A recent study conducted by Khalid Al-Nowaisir of the Ru'yah Center for Social Studies has called for limits to be placed on job market competition between expatriates and Saudi university graduates. The study further recommends bringing the ministries of Labor, Social Affairs and Civil Service under one administrative department that would seek vacant positions for Saudis and oblige large companies to provide training institutes for recent graduates. The study also recommends a survey be carried out of the Saudi job market to compare expatriate worker skills with those of Saudi university graduates and curb the recruitment of foreign workers whose tasks could be performed by trained Saudi nationals. According to the study, one of the main reasons for the reluctance of private firms to hire Saudis is the high cost when compared to the cheaper labor offered by expatriates. The study also notes a preference on the part of Saudi graduates for the public sector due to a lack of job security in the private sector as well more exacting demands in terms of experience and knowledge of languages.
