HAIL — The Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) stated Saudi and non-Saudi engineers are obliged to take an examination to be certified as practitioners. A source said the council has cooperated with Qiyas National Measure and Evaluation Center to implement the exam on all engineers in the country. "The exam will be implemented in a couple of weeks. It was devised by experts in every engineering field available in the Kingdom. People with a university degree in engineering will not be able to practice the profession until they pass the examination," said the source. The source also said the certification will enable practicing engineers to be promoted to associate engineers. "The council chose Qiyas Center as it is the most qualified and accredited testing and examination center in the Kingdom. The Kingdom has 200,000 non-Saudi engineers and 35,000 Saudi engineers. The council has 125,913 non-Saudi members and 9,122 Saudi members," said the source. He also said there are 2,150 registered engineering offices and 1,800 private engineering offices. "Engineers are highly valued in the Kingdom as they are the back bone of most industries. There are over 200,000 contracting offices and other establishments which offer engineering services. The council is aiming to empower the engineering resources in the Kingdom using local authorities," said the source. The source also said there is a huge demand for engineers in the Saudi job market. "Most of the engineers in the Kingdom are non-Saudi. The Kingdom is trying to train and qualify more Saudi engineers by offering internal and external scholarships.," he said. The source said women engineers are also advancing in the field as a number of companies have taken in women engineers for training.
