Minister of Labor Adel Fakieh attended a function held by Okaz newspaper on Wednesday at the Palace Hall of Jeddah Hilton to honor the winners of the yearly Okaz Manpower Awards. “The idea of the award and its philosophy stem from a deep nationalistic feeling dedicated to excellence and creativity. This award coincides with the ministry's efforts to come up with innovative and creative ideas to create more job opportunities for the sons of the soil to realize their hopes and aspirations in leading an honorable and stable life,” Fakieh said. He said the leadership has been striving to achieve this goal and has been encouraging all segments of society, especially the private sector, to help eradicate unemployment and prevent its danger to society. Referring to the Nitaqat Program, he said it is not a comprehensive solution for unemployment but is an important initiative. He also praised Okaz newspaper for taking the lead to increase Saudization and other initiatives in the service of Saudi society. He urged the private and public sectors to work together to increase the rate of Saudization stressing his trust in Saudi youth – boys and girls – who will benefit from the opportunities given to them. Addressing the function, Dr. Waleed Kattan, the Okaz Organization's Director General, welcomed the minister, the guests and winners. He pointed out that Okaz has for the third consecutive year organized the function to honor the creative and innovative business owners in the private sector. “Sensing its social responsibility towards Saudi youth, Okaz has created this prize to support them morally and materially in order to strengthen their confidence in joining the private sector. The importance of this award stems from the fact it encourages the development of human resources in the Kingdom. I need not mention that the youths are the pillars of the development and building of the nation, so we give them our full attention,” he said. Okaz representative Yasser Eid said the award's committee held 10 sessions to examine contestants and pointed out that about 1,000 private establishments, companies and organizations have participated in the award along with male and female private sector employees who were honored by their employers for their excellence. The prizes for outstanding workers consisted of a shield and SR500 for each winner. The winners were Bassam Adnan Al-Saiyoufi, Ibrahim Omar Ibrahim, Ihssan Abdul Razik Bougas, Ahmad Mubark Jaber Al-Jehani, Abdul Aziz Muhammad Al-Harbi, Khaled Assad Abdul Rahman, Saeed Muhammad Al-Qerrni, Muhammad Ibrahim Sleh Al-Obaid, Khulood Abdul Aziz Ahmad Felmban, Iyman Abdullah Saeed Kashko and Muhammad Abdullah Salman Al-Hujali. The prize for the outstanding establishment which consists of a shield and SR40,000 went to Manaar Al-Umran for trading, Saudia, Al-Hakair Group for Tourism and Development, Al-Mouruthat for Medical Services, Faruk and Mamoor Tamr Co, Arikison Co, Jarir Bookshop, Edara Co for Development of Seaports, Human Resources Development Fund and Al-Fatah Co for Private Schools. One of the most coveted prizes of the night was the prize for the Company of the Year which went to ALBAIK Company. __
