Othman Misfir Al Rufaei, a beneficiary of BRJ employment training program. JEDDAH – Bab Rizq Jameel (BRJ), an initiative of ALJ Community Initiatives, created 25,928 job opportunities during the first half of the year 2011, an increase of 2,827 jobs (18 percent) compared with the same period of the last year. Job opportunities created for females represented 74 percent, against 26 percent for males (unverified). Highlighting the first half of 2011 results of BRJ in Saudi Arabia, Abdulrahman Al Fihaid, BRJ Executive Director in Saudi Arabia, announced that the productive household program created 15,067 jobs, which represents 58 percent of the total job opportunities created during the first half of the year. Based on the microfinance concept, the "productive household" program provides interest-free loan of SR5,000 to a group of 3-5 females to start their own micro projects, such as selling accessories, wedding accessories, gift wrapping, embroidery, perfumes and perfume mixtures, makeup and other fields. The program includes several stages, the first of which starts with a loan of SR2,000, and reaches SR6,000 for every female. According to Al Fihaid, the idea of this program is similar to Grameen Bank loans, but it is not associated with interests. Instead, it is an interest free loan. Since 2004, a total of 109,832 females have benefited from the program. "During the first half of 2001, BRJ created 7,146 job opportunities in the Western Province, 5,504 in the Eastern Province, 5,483 in the Northern Province (Madina, Hail, Tabuk and Yanbu), 4,513 in the Riyadh and Qassim, and 3,282 job opportunities in the Southern Province (Assir, Jazan, Najran and Baha," Al Fihaid added. He further said job opportunities are different than monthly-paid jobs. Job opportunities could be a long-term position, a fixed-salary position, a part-time work, a small project, a self-employment job such as a taxi ownership, a marketing agent with a commission, a consultant or any other available opportunity that could generate income "Through BRJ, we are seeking to create job opportunities for young male and female Saudi citizens. We cooperate with several Governmental bodies, such as the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), Saudi Credit and Saving Bank, Ministry of Work and Labor, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC), and other bodies that support job creation programs to achieve their goals," Al Fihaid said. BRJ is continuously seeking to develop flexible techniques and procedures to create more job opportunities.
