The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is expected to generate around 10.8 million jobs by 2014 to complete and sustain existing and future projects, a recent study revealed. The study pointed out that only 5.45 million Saudi nationals will be ready to take the new jobs, opening huge employment opportunities for expatriate workers, including young Arab jobseekers. An estimated amount of $6 billion are allocated for various residential projects in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to give employment for Arab youth over the next few years. The Kingdom is pursuing a “super project” at an initial cost of around $87.8 billion, a development program that is expected to generate over 1.5 million jobs by 2020. Likewise the whole GCC region is expected to generate numerous jobs over the coming few years as development projects continue to take place, creating opportunities for qualified young Arab jobseekers and foreign workers in the region. Combined value of projects planned or being carried out in the GCC has totalled around $2.1 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2009, according to a study by Kuwait National Bank (KNB). The value of the current projects is more than four times the estimated value of projects in June 2005, representing an annual growth of nearly 50 percent. Complementing these findings, a recent study by human resources consulting firm Mercer revealed that about 73 percent of companies across the GCC aim to achieve higher or similar growth this year compared to 2008, prompting up to 60 per cent of companies to increase their headcount by 2010. According to TalentRepublic.NET, the GCC remains an attractive destination because of a tax-free incentives, exceptional living standards, a rich cultural and geographical landscape and numerous career opportunities. Industry experts have also pointed out that growth sectors such as construction, retail and leisure are expanding demand for skilled workers, while the Gulf's thrust towards economic diversification is expected to further drive the region's demand for top-calibre talent. TalentRepublic.NET also pointed out that the current economic situation is largely a transition period, providing companies an opportunity to refocus their objectives and realign their strategies, particularly in terms of optimizing their human resources. In this regard, TalentRepublic.NET has consolidated its portfolio of recruitment, outsourcing and consulting services catering to all business organizations in the region, while strengthening its presence in the Middle East's job market. The company's continuing thrust is to address the evolving challenges of its clients across the Middle East in terms of high-level professional and managerial recruitment and HR services as well as large
