JEDDAH — Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Finnish minister of education and culture, has said that her country is keen to enhance cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the field of education and training by collaborating with the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) to exchange experience. During a visit to the TVTC, Grahn-Laasonen lauded the Saudi Vision 2030 and commended the seriousness of the government in implementing it. According to Grahn-Laasonen, vocational training will play a crucial role in the future of Saudi Arabia as it will help Saudis of both genders to develop needed skills. "We want Finland to work with Saudi Arabia to develop the vocational training in a way that will impact positively on the two states." The minister noted that the vocational training sector in her country attracts annually a large number of youths from all over the world. Elaborating on the topic, she said the youth should contribute more to the economic development of Saudi Arabia. Finland's cooperation with the Kingdom will cover providing training on virtual classes, developing the skills of trainers and developing the vocational sector. Fahad Al-Tuwaijri, deputy governor of TVTC for planning and development, said they have started number of initiatives to meet the goals of Vision 2030. He noted that they are planning to increase the number of trained cadres to reach 950,000 by 2020. He added that they want to increase the efficiency of training by cooperating with a number of international vocational institutes. This, he said, will be achieved through strategic partnership with various international colleges and universities and based on international standards as well as the Saudi market demand. The TVTC currently operates 52 vocational colleges for men, 36 vocational colleges for women and 66 industrial training institutes. The TVTC also supports 21 private sector institutions specialized in various fields. The TVTC had signed in 2012 a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland in the field of training. Subsequently the corporation sent a number of graduates to Finland to enhance their skills and turn them into professional trainers.
