Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed inaugurated Nesma Training Center on Tuesday as the first nonprofit center for training in the Kingdom.
The center comes within the framework of the training policy pursued by Nesma Holding in its corporate social responsibility scheme. In line with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's vision to support the Saudi youth, the center aims to equip the youth with the necessary skills to empower them to enter the work force.
“Sheikh Saleh Al-Turki is one of the influential businessmen who plays a vital role in supporting the government’s plans to develop the country. I hope all businessmen think like Sheikh Saleh. Our love for this country requires us all to contribute positively toward society,” said Prince Mishaal.
Al-Turki, CEO of Nesma Holding, said: “Restructuring social and volunteering work is one of the main areas that Prince Mishaal has developed to achieve sustainable development. Nesma Training Center is part of an integrated system for the establishment of nonprofit training centers for Saudis, in which several centers will be established across the Kingdom.
“Our goal of launching this center is to develop the skills of Saudis and enable them to improve their efficiency and productivity.
“The traditional way of submitting CVs in order to get a job has become redundant because resumes are not sufficient in conveying the skills of a job seeker. Modern age technology has encouraged us in Nesma Holding to create a special body where people can ask for job opportunities.”
Al-Turki cited Aramco as a successful example of an enterprise offering training courses for Saudi nationals.
“It is very important to create job opportunities and hire Saudis in different job positions because if we hire expats in these jobs, we won't be able to effectively nationalize our economy. We have provided training for many Saudi employees at Nesma and now they occupy leading positions in the company,” he said.
Asked about small and medium enterprises (SMEs), he told Arab News that supporting SMEs is important and there are several training courses that Nesma Training Center is running to boost the skills of entrepreneurs.
“We work on developing soft skills and offer work ethics courses. Unfortunately, some people don’t attend the work ethics course, which is why we stop them from attending the rest of the classes,” he said.
According to Al-Turki, Nesma Training Center is striving to reduce the gap between Saudi youth and the private sector, especially given the facts revealed in a new study which states that 80 percent of managers in private companies believe there is a shortage in the efficiency, expertise and work ethics of Saudi graduates.
“During the Haj season, Saudis reject more than 20,000 job opportunities at a staggering cost of SR 120 million annually because they refuse to work as drivers. The study also indicated that 70 percent of Saudi family members are unemployed and lack working skills.”