JEDDAH: The Saudi Steel Profile Company has established a training school to train and provide jobs for young Saudis. There are also plans underway to hire Saudi women, said Mohamed H. Zakaria, the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and General Manager, in a recent interview with Saudi Gazette. “We would like to welcome Saudi women employees in the company. We have sent letters to the labor office and asked for help from the JCCI [Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry] in this regard,” said Zakaria. “We respect women and welcome them. We want them to progress and compete with men. A few years ago we couldn't imagine that women could work in the industrial field.” Zakaria said that the Kingdom is changing, and that Saudi women can work in the sector, particularly in office management, reception and accounts. There are also plans to hire people with disabilities, he added. He said the Bugshan family, the owners of the steel company, believes it is their duty as a Saudi company to contribute to the development of the country and the employment of nationals. He said the training school is to ensure that more Saudis are trained for positions in the company. Currently 10 percent of the workforce is Saudi but the plan is to turn it into a company with 100 percent Saudi employees, he added. He said Saudis are performing at the company. A Saudi national won the employee of the year award in 2010. He started as a security guard and is now a storekeeper. He said the cost of employing a Saudi is double that of a foreigner, but a budget has to be set aside for this. Zakaria said that there are also plans to teach Saudis English because the company deals mostly with foreign suppliers. “All the raw materials, machinery and manuals we receive are in English, so it's very important to train them in the language. We can't just turn immediately from our foreign suppliers to Arab countries because our workers do not understand the language. Even Arab countries like Egypt and Syria send their material abroad and use catalogues and manuals in English, so there is no way out,” he said. He believes that Saudis should improve their language skills so that they can take up positions in the company. He said the company is also working on cleaning up the environment in the area and also planting trees and flowers. They are working with the JCCI to raise awareness about the environment with other companies. “The government has already done a lot of things, now it's our turn to do our best. We should maintain our facilities and keep the area clean.”
