JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia's economy loses hundreds of millions of riyals each year thanks to an unqualified and untrained labor force that has no qualifications relating to the professions in which they work. There are no clear statistics about the amount of the loss. However, there is increasing pressure on municipalities in the Kingdom to enforce strict rules and regulations to prevent those who are unqualified from working in their fields. Some workers were working in unskilled jobs in their home countries before coming to Saudi Arabia and finding work as mechanics and electricians, among others, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported.
An engineer at Saqifat Al-Safa for projects and contracting, Muwaffaq Al-Hashmi, demands a swift solution to the problem that has damaged the infrastructure, private property and cost the economy millions.
Al-Hashmi noted, "We must not allow unskilled workers to try their hand at any profession before making sure of their qualifications and experience and until they are licensed from the responsible authorities." He added the main factor for the success of such licensing is proper supervision.
Al-Hashmi said the municipalities must not issue permits and allow unskilled workers to operate unsupervised.
He added people should learn to protect their rights and not allow others to take advantage of them. If they allow such workers to keep making mistakes without holding them accountable, it could encourage them to multiply.
Muhammad Omar, an employee in the government sector, said most car mechanics, electricians and health stores lack skilled workers. He claims 90 percent of them were not qualified and had no experience in their respective fields before coming to the Kingdom.
He added, "One day I needed an electrician to do some work in my home. He came with his assistant whose only job was to pass tools over. When I asked the assistant what his job was, he said he had just come from his village and did not know anything about the profession because there were no electricians in his village."
Omar says a few months later he visited the same electrician and saw the assistant again, who did not recall they had met a few months ago. He then claimed he was a professional with years of experience.
Yahya Al-Sulami, a teacher in a private school, said most workers in automobile workshops are not skilled and do not bother to serve customers. "They ask customers to buy new spare parts, but instead they install used parts from the scrap market. It happened to me when I went to fix my brakes and bought new ones to have them installed. A few days later the same problem returned and I went to a different mechanic, where they told me yet again I needed new brakes."
Al-Sulami said he had been cheated by the previous shop and only managed to get his money back when he complained to the police. He wants the worker who served him to be deported, but claims he is still working.
Kamal Al-Etani, head of the mechanics group in Riyadh, said there were many problems in his field, which is controlled by foreign workers. He said almost two thirds of them are unqualified.
"In Jeddah alone, there are more than 5,000 auto workshops controlled by foreign workers. These people cannot keep up with the continuous advances in technology and therefore we will see many mistakes. Sadly, no one realizes that now and they will keep on increasing and harm the national economy," he said.
© Arab News 2009
