RIYADH — The Ministry of Labor has said there are 65,000 expatriates working in the public sector, Makkah newspaper reported. A source said the Ministry of Labor signed an agreement with the Ministry of Civil Service under a program titled "Efficiency and Development" to encourage the employment of Saudis instead of foreigners in the public sector. "For the past five years, the Ministry of Civil Service reported it has saudized 5,627 positions previously occupied by foreigners. A total of 3,367 Saudi women replaced non-Saudi women in public sector jobs," said the source. The two ministries will link data of job seekers to better coordinate the hiring of Saudis, the source said. The Ministry of Labor will also share some of its e-services with the Ministry of Civil Services to enable it to better manage the expatriates in the public sector, said the source. He said the agreement covers the Human Resources Development Fund, the General Organization for Social Insurance, the Technical and Vocational Training Cooperation, the civil service directorates, the Institute of Public Administration and Public Pension Agency. "The agreement will combine the capacities and expertise of the two ministries to improve the efficiency of the Saudi job market," said the source. The source also said the ministries will work on improving the quality of the Saudi job market by organizing the application process and digitalizing it, providing sustainable job opportunities through Taqat portal and unifying jobseeker databases through Hafiz Wa Jadarah portal. "The agreement also entails training employees of human resources departments in both private and public sectors. The agreement aims to better utilize Duroob Program for qualifying and training potential candidates for jobs," said the source. The source said the agreement will elevate the social status of Saudis and enable Saudis with special needs to obtain jobs.
