The Kingdom has taken a number of measures for the employment of Saudi citizens, especially the university graduates. King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has issued a number of Royal orders to ensure the employment of Saudis. The King set up a high-level ministerial committee to find ways to employ the growing number of graduates in public and private sectors. The King has also increased the minimum salary of Saudi workers to SR3,000 and ordered the payment of SR2,000 as monthly allowance for jobless for a period of 12 months until they are trained to enter the labor market. These Royal orders have provided a practical solution to the unemployment problem. The implementation of these orders necessitated working out mechanisms to absorb thousands of young Saudi job seekers. Now it is the task of the Control and Investigation Bureau (CIB) to follow-up the progress with ministries and various government agencies and administrations. The Bureau is also involved in assessing the manpower need of these agencies. Government bodies created to find employment for Saudi youths are already doing their job. The Ministry of Civil Service has asked 10,636 Saudi holders of pre-university diplomas to visit its branches, beginning Saturday in preparation for employing them in a number of state institutions. Officials said each applicant needs to bring the application number provided by the Ministry of Civil Service's website, their national identity card, their original diploma and a valid vocational classification certificate from the Saudi Commission for Health Specialization. The deadline for submitting the required documents is Sept. 22. Labor Minister Adel Fakeeh, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Human Resources Development Fund, launched in the capital Tuesday the second stage of ‘Hafiz', the National Program for Aiding Job seekers. The minister urged those who have registered in Hafiz Program to complete their personal data on the program's website www.hafiz.gov.sa, especially those who have received an SMS, pointing out that those who registered their names will receive another SMS containing a password which they can use to access the website and update their data. Completion of data will increase the possibility of finding job opportunities for the registered candidates. The problem of unemployment, it seems, will soon be over with such effective measures already in place. __
