RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has given 160 cultural professions a major boost with an increase in “employment support” for those working in sectors ranging from publishing to architecture.

Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan said on Wednesday that the rate of employment support has risen from 30 percent to 50 percent as part of an initiative implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and the Human Resources Development Fund, also known as Hadaf, to enhance professional sustainability in the cultural sectors as part of Vision 2030.

Employment support is an incentive paid by the government to the national workforce, via Hadaf.

Support is extended to a wide list of occupations in sectors including heritage, language, books and publishing, libraries, fashion arts, theater and performing arts, culinary arts, films, museums, visual arts, festivals and events, and architecture and design.

The Ministry of Culture has previously launched a strategy to develop cultural capabilities, working with government agencies to encourage arts and culture entrepreneurs, and create a positive image of artistic and cultural professions and talents.

Selected jobs in the sector were given official occupational status in the Kingdom for the first time following a Cabinet decision in 2020 and have been included in the Unified Saudi Occupational Classification.

The occupations were added after a study of Saudi Arabia’s culture sector, based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations.