DAMMAM: The head of the Saudi Commission of Engineers in the Eastern Province has said that the discovery of engineers with fake certificates at Saudi contracting firms means that foreign engineers could soon face extra examinations prior to working in the Kingdom. Kamal Aal Hamad did not state the number of fake certificates uncovered, but told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that inspectors had also found “thousands” of persons working under the job title “engineer” without having gone through a university education. “The discovery of the fake certificates came after the introduction of obligatory qualification for all engineers working in companies or engineering offices,” Aal Hamad said. “That followed the decision from the Ministry of Interior five months ago which obliges companies and engineering offices to obtain qualifications.” He said, however, that the need to train and qualify engineering staff was “not an urgent one” but instead arose from a “law every country must apply”. “That is to ensure the veracity of documents and certificates belonging to persons working in engineering,” he said. “The commission charges fees of SR1,250 paid by SR250 a year, as well as SR500 paid to the company that verifies engineers' legal documents.” He said the company, working in tandem with the Ministry of Higher Education, uncovered “thousands of forged certificates”. “The cases didn't just concern certificates but also the rigging of professions in the case of some contracting firms, whereby a carpenter has been employed and the company has issued him a visa for an engineer,” he said. The commission is currently working, he said, on modifying job descriptions or “appeasement measures” as a primary step in order to address workers employed in what are not their true professions, while persons with fake certificates are asking for their documents to be adjusted to match the work they are employed to do. Aal Hamad said that parties responsible for forgeries should be “strictly dealt with” and revealed that the engineers' commission and the Ministry of Interior are considering holding examinations for all foreign engineers before they arrive in the Kingdom. “That would prevent persons with fake certificates entering,” he said. “The commission is fully prepared to hold examinations and is waiting for final approval from the Ministry of Labor.”
