awaited Saudization drive for the Kingdom's tour and travel sector received a shot in the arm as the first batch of 166 Saudis were graduated by Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) in Riyadh Saturday. Similar graduation ceremonies for around 80 Saudi students in Jeddah and a batch of 65 others in Dammam will also be held within the next two weeks. Once that happens, a little over 300 Saudis will emerge as trained graduates to take up jobs in the country's tour and travel sector. The graduation of young Saudis in tour and travel occupations is seen as a realization of the mission of Prince Sultan Bin Salman, SCT's Secretary General, to Saudize the Kingdom's travel industry. Among those present at the graduation ceremony included Prince Sultan Bin Salman, Dr Ali Al-Ghafees, Governor of the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVT), Mansoor Al-Zamil, Director of the Human Resource Development Fund, Dr. Abdullah S. Al-Weshail, SCT's Director General of the National Project for Tourism at the Human Resource Department, and representatives of tour and travel companies that recruited the Saudi graduates. The successful Saudi graduates will take up jobs at some 27 different tour and travel companies in Riyadh, said Dr. Al-Weshail. He added around 4,000 Saudis will undergo a one-year training program to take up employment in the hotel industry, while the second batch of Saudis will be enrolled in a one-year training program for jobs in the tour and travel sector. “There is a great demand for Saudi candidates for employment in the hotel industry,” he said, “and the start of the training program for hotel accommodation will help meet the Saudization target in the next five years,” said Dr. Al-Weshail. The Kingdom had set a Saudization target of three years for tour and travel companies, the workforce of which is currently comprised of 80 percent foreigners. Dr. Al-Weshail said the training program for young Saudis was jointly organized by HRDF's subsidiary National System for Joint Training in collaboration with the companies that signed employment contracts with GOTEVT. The 166 fresh graduates will work in jobs such as sales and marketing, reservation and ticketing, as customer service agents, cargo officers and other technical staff. Dr. Al-Weshail said the young Saudis, who underwent an intensive English-language training program to learn communication skills, were enthusiastic to get to the new jobs. He said around eight months of the one-year course were dedicated for teaching English-language communication skills. Prince Sultan had also graced the signing ceremony last year when Saudi candidates and tour and travel companies signed employment contracts that saw the commencement of the training program. The training program was conducted both as hands-on training and classes at the NSJT's training facility in Riyadh. The HRDF financed the training program by partly contributing to each candidate's monthly salary that ranged between SR1,500 to more than SR2,500, depending on the occupation. The minimum qualification for a Saudi who is keen to work in the tour and travel sector is high-school certification to get enrolled at the training program. Those interested in a training program for the hotel industry can be school dropouts or middle-school graduates, he said. However, an aptitude test is conducted to decide which occupation suits the candidate before being enrolled at a training program, he said. “With the emergence of a first batch of successful candidates we are optimistic to achieve the set Saudization target in the travel industry,” Dr. Al-Weshail said. In 2004, Saudi Arabia's tour and travel sector had plunged into chaos when the majority of owners of travel agencies refused to meet the Saudization target set by the Labor Ministry, citing the absence of trained Saudis. The result was the closure of a large number of tour and travel agencies across the Kingdom. However, a group of leading travel agents urged Prince Sultan Bin Salman, the SCT chief, to intervene. His mediation with the Manpower Council had rescheduled the Saudization percentage by granting a two-year grace period. Under the new setup, travel agencies have to achieve an overall 81 percent of Saudization, including 70 percent for ticketing staff and 100 percent for unskilled jobs. __
