JEDDAH: The graduation ceremony of the fourth cohort of Red Sea Global’s Vocational Training Program was held on Thursday, with Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi, governor of Jeddah, in attendance, along with Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Red Sea Global CEO John Pagano, and senior executives from the company and its partner organizations.
A total of 386 graduates completed the program in airport services, luxury hospitality, and health and wellness tourism operations. One of the ceremony’s most memorable moments came when video messages from the graduates’ families were shown on screen.
Addressing the graduates, Pagano said the Kingdom’s tourism ambitions ultimately depend on people rather than infrastructure.
“Those who came through our education and training programs are already helping bring our destinations to life, and very soon, many of you will join them.
“You are joining us at a very special moment in Red Sea Global’s journey. The Red Sea is welcoming tens of thousands of guests from around the world. More resorts are preparing to open, and new opportunities are emerging across our facilities, our subsidiaries, and our partners.”
Ahmed Ghazi Darwish, chief administrative officer and spokesman at Red Sea Global, said the graduates reflected the success of the company’s education and capacity-building initiatives, describing them as “a new generation of Saudi talent equipped to help shape the future of the Kingdom’s tourism sector.”
He added that more than 2,400 young Saudis have benefited from Red Sea Global’s programs since their launch, with more than 1,500 graduates completing the initiatives in support of Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s growing tourism industry.
Darwish told Arab News he was proud to see another cohort of Saudis preparing to enter the sector.
“I'm filled with immense joy and pride with this graduation and I'm happy that now the Kingdom is creating new generations of talented Saudi youth in several sectors, especially tourism. These talents will play a big role in growing our new tourist destinations”, he said. “Vision 2030 is the main driver because it gives us a compass. It gives us clarity. And with the support of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, our chairman, we have no option but to succeed. And that is the passion that drives everybody in Red Sea Global, drives everybody in the destinations. That’s why we are successful.”
Asked about the Kingdom’s first health and wellness tourism operations track for graduates, Darwish said: “It’s a very important track that we are considering for AMAALA (the luxury “regenerative tourism resort) as a destination, for sure. But wellness is also embedded in several resorts in the Red Sea destination.”
Fadi Al-Asiri, general manager of education and capacity building at Red Sea Global, told Arab News the company continues to expand its training offerings in response to the evolving needs of its projects.
“We continuously assess the workforce needs of Red Sea Global’s projects. Whenever we identify demand for a particular specialization — even if that expertise is not yet available in Saudi Arabia — we design new training programs in partnership with organizations inside and outside the Kingdom,” he said. “Today, our educational initiatives include a range of specialized programs, such as tourism security, the Kingdom’s first health and wellness tourism operations track, airport services, luxury hospitality, and culinary arts.”
Turki Al-Jawini, director general of the Human Resources Development Fund, described the vocational training program as a “successful national model for linking training with employment,” saying that investing in Saudi talent and equipping young people with specialized skills would support the Kingdom’s high-growth sectors, particularly tourism.
Among the graduates was 23-year-old Wisam Zaied, who told Arab News the program had transformed his understanding of hospitality.
“Before joining the program, it was very limited — I thought it was simply about welcoming guests and serving them coffee. But during my internship, I realized hospitality is much more than that. It’s about making guests feel genuinely welcome and creating a memorable experience for them.”
