Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) has initiated an international scholarship program in entertainment disciplines at the Bachelor's and Master's degrees, instating the first batch of students in partnership with Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC). The program aims to educate and train students at the most prestigious universities in the world, including this first batch at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College, to enhance employability and skills that meet the labor market trends of the entertainment sector while equipping sponsored students with the skills and knowledge necessary to prepare them to work in this emerging sector. The first batch includes on-the-job training for the selected students at a Six Flags Park in the United States, as well as a job at Qiddiya upon successful completion of the program. The program will enable Qiddiya to achieve its goal of offering a significant portion of future employment opportunities to Saudi nationals, as over 25,000 jobs are expected to be available by 2030. CEO of General Entertainment Authority Amr Banja said: "This cooperative effort between GEA and Qiddiya reiterates GEA commitment toward developing the entertainment sector and empowering it through local talent." He added that the scholarship program seeks to develop local content by adopting local expertise in a global perspective that comes in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals and enables the growth in the sector to become a promising sector. CEO of Qiddiya Investment Company Michael Reininger said: "Our partnership with GEA is an example of QIC's concerted efforts to build and foster a new breed of skilled professionals that will service newly-created sectors in the Kingdom and cultivate the human resources that will be instrumental in developing them to their full potential. We are proud of this partnership, and we look forward to welcoming the sponsored students back, upon completion of their degrees, to work at Qiddiya and apply their learning and experiences to real life scenarios and begin their journey of successful careers in this rapidly growing sector". Through this program, GEA aims to achieve its strategic goals of developing and boosting local content, increasing the entertainment sector's contributions to GDP, and capacity development to the Kingdom's cadre of talents positioned to work in diverse fields as part of its targets within the Quality of Life Program, one of the Saudi Vision 2030 programs. For registration a webpage was set on the link: https://www.gea.gov.sa/hr-development/qiddiya/ — SPA
