RIYADH: The Saudi Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmad Al-Rajhi has issued an order abolishing the yellow category in the Nitaqat program of Saudization.

All establishments falling into the section will transfer to the red category, effective from Jan. 26, 2020.

The Nitaqat program was set up to increase employment of Saudi nationals in the private sector, and classifies the Kingdom’s private firms into six categories ranging from platinum to red.

Al-Rajhi’s decision is aimed at encouraging companies to move into one of the green categories or higher, which would automatically lead to increased Saudization and employment opportunities as well as providing the ministry’s services to the businesses.

The bottom two yellow and red categories were intended for establishments that did not achieve the required Saudization rates and were considered unsafe zones containing firms unable to access the full range of services offered by the ministry.