THERE are thousands of jobs for Saudis in the hotel and furnished apartments industry. These are the jobs for receptionists and accountants that are currently held by expatriates. A decision to limit these jobs to Saudis will help ease the unemployment rate among citizens and support the government's initiative to nationalize the labor market. These jobs can absorb tens of thousands of Saudi youths who are looking for work so that they can live decently and will not seek help from their relatives and friends for their needs. But to make this plan feasible, salaries of Saudis who will like to take those positions should be raised so that they can at least have a decent means of livelihood. If wages for these positions are low, you cannot expect Saudis who are qualified and seriously looking for employment to take the jobs. The hotel and furnished apartments industry needs highly qualified personnel because it is linked to the country's domestic tourism. As such, employees in this industry, particularly the receptionists, must be highly educated and trained. Any plan to restrict certain types of work to Saudi nationals should be supported by two basic requirements. First, it should be practical, and, second, it must be binding on employers. To make the plan practical, salaries should be raised so that many jobless Saudis will apply for the work offered, thus giving employers a wide latitude to choose highly qualified applicants. To make it binding, penalties should be imposed on companies which do not comply with the requirements or incentives given to those that do. Inevitably, this brings a message to the youth that the labor market is becoming too competitive and, therefore, they should get skills to be able to land decent jobs. We cannot expects employers to pay us for doing nothing. If we have to live decently with good pay, we also have to work with pride and dignity. __
