22 March 2014
As part of government efforts to employ Saudi youth in the private sector, the Ministry of Labor has created various programs to encourage youth participation in the private sector and while many of the programs have been successful, they have also led to widespread abuse by companies seeking to skirt the government's Saudization quotas, Al-Riyadh daily reported.

Required to employee a certain percentage of Saudis -- the number varies depending on the size and activity of the company -- many companies pay young Saudi men to collect salaries for jobs that either don't exist or they prefer to reserve for expatriate workers. Despite the Ministry of Labor's moves to reserve dozens of job categories for Saudis, the practice of employing Saudis "on paper" continues to exist.

Abdulrahman Saleh, a young Saudi jobseeker, said he was surprised when the manager of a company he had applied to asked him what sort of job he wanted.

"The manager asked me: Do you want a Saudization job or a real job? He was surprised when I said 'real job' and admitted that were no vacancies for me. It was then that I understood the two choices very well," he said.

The company Saleh applied to was simply trying to meet its Saudization quota. Saleh eventually agreed to the "Saudization" job and according to their system, he is an employee there who receives a monthly salary of SR3,000. In reality, he only gets SR1,500, a sum the unemployed youth gladly accepted.

"The company's owner made it clear that he does not want to see me on the premises," he added.

Saleh's case is not unique. Numerous firms in the private sector offer fake jobs to unemployed male and female Saudis who collect a salary -- usually half of what is reported to the government -- by staying at home and not reporting for work. So, why not just replace expatriate workers with Saudis? In some cases, companies simply want to employ cheap expatriate workers. Others claim Saudi youth are poorly-trained and lack the right worth ethic.

Experts say in order to create a conducive work environment for today's youth that helps them achieve their aspirations and hopes, the Ministry of Labor must focus on the quantitative aspect of Saudization and not the qualitative aspect. The Ministry of Labor has been urged to start a program that allows the private sector to have peace of mind about employees and vice versa. Also, qualified youths should be trained for jobs and be awarded certificates that they can present along with their resumes.

Businessman Dawood Saleh Al-Ossaimi said the practice of employing Saudis on paper is a temporary solution companies use to avoid being placed in the red zone of the Ministry of Labor's Nitaqat program. The program classifies private companies in premium, green, yellow and red categories depending on their compliance with Saudization quotas. Companies in the red category have restrictions placed on them such as a freeze on renewing of their workers' visas.

"At present, companies employ the youth on paper simply to surpass the Nitaqat red zone. This is not enough, and is a temporary solution that will come to an end and the country's unemployment condition will remain unchanged. The Nitaqat program is not practical. Frankly speaking, we employers are not concerned with training and qualifying young Saudis. We sign employment contracts with them and then quickly register them at the Labor Office so as to reach the Saudization percentage. The majority of employees do not work in our firms nor do they have productive jobs."

Al-Ossaimi further said while the issuance of visas for expatriates is regulated by demand, Saudis, regardless of their qualifications and training, are forced upon businesses by the ministry even if there is no demand for their skills.

"If there is a demand for laborers or engineers, the government will issue visas for these professions. But in the case of Saudis, it often doesn't matter what type of degrees or professional qualifications they have. The ministry often expects companies to simply absorb them. The ministry should communicate with companies and learn about their needs and then train the qualified Saudi youths for these jobs," he added.

© The Saudi Gazette 2014