Skilled talent in the labor market is set to dynamically change as 30,000 Saudis are expected to graduate from prominent universities around the world by 2015. The Ministry of Higher Education for Foreign Scholarships Affairs released the estimate and said half of the students by then would complete their masters/post graduate studies while the other half would complete their bachelors. Almost half of them are expected to work in the upcoming universities here and form 30 to 40 percent of the teaching staff. Abdullah Al-Mousa, Deputy Minister for Higher Education for Foreign Scholarships Affairs, said the ministry provided scholarships to 28,000 students currently studying in 800 universities in 25 countries. Ten thousand of them are enrolled in post-graduate studies, 5,000 in medicine, 1,922 in dentistry, 2,000 in medical sciences, 5,000 in engineering, 4,000 in IT and communications and 6,000 in the fields of economy, finance and insurance, Al-Hayat said. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program of Scholarships is now in its fourth phase and the ministry is all geared up for new initiatives and measures. The initiatives have been divided into sub-phases with the first one focusing on scholarships for students sent on various degree programs. Scholarships for diploma holders wherein 1,000 seats are being designated forms the second phase. The third is for those who wish to specialize in special education (education for physically challenged or disabled students). Diploma holders selected for scholarship will be sent to five industrial countries i.e. Korea, Japan, China, France and Germany, Al-Mousa added. The ministry will set up centers to receive applications in Jizan and Al-Jouf regions. Scholarship's merit criterion is also being streamlined as students with lesser grades could not secure admission in foreign universities despite the scholarship. Al-Mousa admitted initial hiccups in the implementation of the program. The ministry also plans to celebrate the Saudi National Day in a big and a unique manner. It intends to organize events in more than 500 student clubs of different universities around the world. __
