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KAEC, CBA ink deal to enroll students in Job Market Foundation Program

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and the College of Business Administration (CBA) signed an agreement in Jeddah recently, to confirm the implementation of the second phase of the Job Market Foundation program, a social responsibility initiative adopted by KAEC and CBA.

Fahd Al-Rasheed, managing director and CEO of KAEC, and Abdullah Dahlan, CBA director of board of trustees, signed the deal in the presence of Prince Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, advisor to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Deputy Minister of Higher Education Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Saif and a number of dignitaries during CBA's sixth graduation ceremony. The agreement is set to enhance the community in the cities of Rabigh, Thowal and the areas around them by training and qualifying 400 male and female students with high school degrees.

"Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Service are key objectives for KAEC, and the city has undertaken this role in order to contribute to educating Saudi youth, for that reason we choose the College of Business Administration as our partner since it is renowned for the highest levels of professionalism and latest education methods and curriculum," said Fahd Al-Rasheed.

He added: "We have come a long way over the past years to attract a large base of industrial, commercial, and major regional and global companies to invest, set up factories and offices, and start operating from KAEC. Some of these companies include Mars, an international confectionery and chocolate company; GREIF, one of the packaging industry giants; Pfizer and Sanofi Aventis, global leaders in the pharmaceutical industry; TOTAL, one of the major oil companies in the world, in addition to Al-Rajhi Heavy Industries, Abdul Latif Jameel Group, Tamer Group, Jamjoom & Bros, Atteyyah Steel, and many others. These companies and factories will contribute to creating many direct job opportunities over the coming five years at KAEC, and we aim to avail many of these opportunities for Saudi talents."

Fahd thanked Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal for his continuous support for the program since its launch, when he inaugurated the first graduation ceremony for more than 300 male and female students who graduated from the program two years ago in KAEC.

Dahlan said: "Our partnership with KAEC started just over two years ago and has proven to be very successful in achieving its objective of ensuring high school graduates are equipped with the basic skills to succeed in the local job market. The first phase of the Job Market Foundation Program has achieved great success, with the training of more than 300 high school graduates from the regions of Rabigh and Thowal. The second phase will benefit a larger number of students by significantly raising their capabilities to become valuable members of the Kingdom's pool of talented human resources ready for the job market or help them complete their higher education in CBA or any of the Saudi universities."

The training program emphasizes on two major areas, English language and basic management skills. The English Language program consists of two training module of eight-weeks respectably with an average of five hours a day during which the students are learning the CBA curriculum. The basic management skills program consists of four courses -- Business English, communication skills, IT and computer applications, and basic business skills. In addition, 5 hours of examinations and follow-up assessments are held for 4 hours every week.

On completion of the first two months of the program, students receive English Language certificates. By completing the second two months of the program, students will be awarded the Job Foundation Program certificate.

The program also includes a Career Attitude Assessment to help trainees choose their most suitable professions based on their strengths and capabilities.

While CBA will conduct interviews with all candidates for overall assessment, the selection criteria for enrollment in the program gives priority to high school graduates from Rabigh, Thowal and the areas around them.

© Arab News 2012

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