Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi announced the ministry’s decision to localize key jobs in fun cities and family recreational centres, on 31 March 2022.
“Hundred percent of jobs at fun cities at malls and 70 percent of jobs in permanent and seasonal fun cities as well as in family recreational centres will be Saudized effective from Sept. 23, 2022,” the ministry said in a statement.
Saudization, officially known as the Saudi nationalization scheme, or Nitaqat is the newest policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia implemented by its Ministry of Labour and Social Development.
Under this scheme, companies in the private sector are obligated to employ Saudi nationals instead of non-Saudi workers. Saudization is an essential part of the Saudi Vision 2030 reform programme.
Major jobs that are going to be Saudized at fun cities and recreational centres happen to be: branch manager, department manager, department supervisor, assistant branch manager, cash supervisor, customer service jobs, sales specialist and marketing specialist.
According to the minister’s decision, some jobs will be exempted from Saudization. These include cleaning workers, loading and unloading worker, and operators of specific games that require competence and specialized certificates.
This decision is the part of ministry’s aim to provide stimulating and productive job opportunities for male and female citizens in various regions of the Kingdom.
Also, the ministry intends to raise the level of their participation in the labour market and enhance their contribution to the economic system.
The ministry issued a procedural guide to inform employers and establishments about the mechanism to calculate the Nitaqat percentage of Saudization and the penalties stipulated for the violators of the regulations.
Saudization was introduced because previously the private sector was largely dominated by expatriate workers from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Arab countries such as Lebanon and Egypt.
The Saudi government has, of late, sought to reduce unemployment among natives under the slogan “Let’s Put the Saudi in Saudization”.
