Many young graduates of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (CTVT) are finding it tough to get good jobs. It is difficult to find work in government and the private sector pays too little. Bandar Jali graduated four years ago with an excellent grade, but is now depressed and thinking of burning his certificate. “I regret the years I wasted to get it and the longer years I spent looking for a job. I'm having difficulty sleeping, seeing my counterparts getting jobs and starting families, while I am still looking for the beginning of the road which I don't expect to find.” He said the private sector would not hire him for more than SR1,800. Muhammad Asiri graduated five years ago from the Technical College, majored in electronics, and has “knocked on all doors” with no result. “Most responses I get when I apply for a job are that ‘there are no jobs for technical colleges' which has increased my feelings of regret that I ever went to that educational facility.” Another technical education graduate, Mousa Jaber, said that his major, welding, was not in demand at all and wondered why students are admitted to the course. “I applied for a job everywhere and was not employed because of my ‘weak' major. The technical institute has become a source of unemployment.” Dr. Muhammad Aal Zulfah, a former Shoura Council member, said the outcomes of technical institutes have to be reconsidered. “Graduates are unable to enter the labor market because of their weak programs. The outcomes and applications must be reconsidered, away from theory.” “Women technical training institutes can be a major source of females who can fill vacancies at women accessories shops after the King's order is implemented. However, we see no action by the corporation in that regard, and failure to do so means there's a defect in the corporation and it has to be restructured,” he said. Dr. Hussein Dagriri, Dean of Library Affairs and Public Relations and Information Supervisor at Jizan University, thinks there are several reasons for the unemployment of technical graduates. The primary reason is that these graduates are not fulfilling market requirements. He said some courses may have to be discontinued. Dagriri also blamed students for enrolling in majors that are not job-oriented. “Moreover, many of those who take these majors do not develop themselves by taking English and computer courses.” He also blamed the private sector. “The private sector so far has not fulfilled its role in serving the country through recruiting its people.” He said the mentality of many businessmen is to take and not to give back. “They have a policy of making higher profits at little cost. That's why we have large numbers of unemployed technical graduates while at the same time the job market is crowded with millions of expatriates.” Al-Hijab Bin Ahmad Al-Hazmi, Chairman of the CTVT in Jizan, said the corporation is “better than universities. It grants each graduate a loan to start a project. Technical institutes are not responsible for employment.” __
