Firstly, I want to apologize, the percentage of workless (unemployed) in Saudi Arabia is 10% not 9%. I would like also in this article to highlight some of its reasons, and I wish to make a discussion with the readers about this issue as in continuation of the previous article. The first point is well known by most of the unemployed males - who do not hold university degrees - whereas the percentage of degree holders is only 20% of the total number of the unemployed males. The reason refers to the education culture and method; the Saudi or foreigner teacher did not have the awareness which would allow him to know that any youth who did not complete his education would be a burden on the national economy. Education officials do not meet. And when they did, their meetings were not positive to know the reasons of the students' failure and their abstaining from the education. The school did not know that every failure student is considered as wastage of the human resources of our beloved kingdom. Some may wonder that humans differ from each other, and it is very hard to achieve excellence for all of them. My answer will be that this is correct, whereas the student's method of study should be changed according to his desires and hobbies, but should remain connected to the education circle not to be thrown in the street. The failure student should be remedied and is not scrap iron. For the graduates, the percentage of university graduates for the scientific specializations is less than 30% of their total before seven years, now with the virtue of the developmental policy of The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques – god bless him –more than thirty universities has been established, and scholarship abroad have been increased until these universities start teaching. The percentage of the scientific specializations like engineering, medicine, agriculture, computer science and services have been increased to approximately 50% of the total number of graduates. Dear reader, could you imagine that in the countries of oil whose land covers the fifth of the world reservation, the percentage of engineers is less than 2% of the total graduates? Now, this percentage has been increased three times more than the increment of the education budget from the country. Regarding the second point which is more complicated than the previous one, most of the unemployed females do not suffer any educational problem; more than three quarters of the unemployed females are graduates, and I would like to add that the Saudi female workers are more than the foreigners, which indicate that the local economic nature is scarcely create working opportunity for females, and the available opportunities are rare due to abundance of requests. In fact, the problem here is its social nature. The society prevents a lot of employers of providing the working opportunities for females. We have to be honest with ourselves and confess that the society is one of the most important reasons. It is very hard for any country to create working opportunities for females designed according to the society whim in terms of the working hours, working time and existence of males at the work place. It is the economic requirements that impose their situation and reality. If the society insisted on his opinion, then it would be the society itself that impose idleness on these females who suffer from such judgment without committing any fault. The percentage of the unemployed females whose work opportunities are socially rejected is deducted from the total number of the unemployed, and this will decrease the percentage of unemployed to less than 7% for the temporary idleness. The unemployment of some females is considered to be structural. Of course this is not a solution. And it is important to increase the society awareness and start the dialogue. and here is one question in this regard: why the Ministry of Social Affairs does not visit some of male and female social specialists to discuss with them and understand the society more clearly and raise its awareness? As, I think, this insistence may lead to this modification in the percentage of the unemployed. To measure the percentage of temporary unemployed in any society, we must consider its society members who are in the age of work and do not work, then to deduct the patients, incapables, prisoners and who are not wishing to work. For example, housewives should not be consider unemployed as they are busy with managing their homed, and do not search for work, and therefore, this requires a structural change. We will talk more about the role of the private and public sector and the nature of economy especially regarding the unemployed issue next week.
