RIYADH – The Ministry of Labor has enrolled 3,443 young Saudi women in training programs in vocational colleges. The training programs aim to discover their aptitudes and capabilities and enable them to gain vocational skills that qualify them for jobs in the labor market, including accounting and office management. These programs are a part of the "education and work" campaign that was launched by the ministries of labor and education in cooperation with the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) and Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC). The vocational training program in which female students participated during the current academic year, included design, computer maintenance, basic courses for a beautician and art and design. Meanwhile, vocational colleges have added the programs of technical support, accounting and office management to the curriculum in the second semester. The colleges explained the need for the specializations to the female students as well as the job opportunities available to them. The objective is to instill positive attitudes in the female students getting general education about vocational work and encourage them to gain technical and vocational skills that will help them carry out maintenance work. The aim is also to disseminate awareness on the importance of working in the vocational fields and provide job opportunities to young Saudi women who are keen to be trained. Young Saudi men and women are given priority to get enrolled in technical and vocational colleges.
