RIYADH — The Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF) said that as many as 40,000 young Saudi men and women jobseekers, who are beneficiaries of Hafiz programs, have been employed during the first 10 months of 2020. The Fund noted that it had started a few months ago a project to find out male and female jobseekers, who were serious in finding a job. The beneficiaries of Hafiz were offered suitable placements after establishing direct communications with them, and their number has exceeded 40,000 since the beginning of this year until the end of last October, it said in a statement. Meanwhile, HADAF warned the beneficiaries of the Hafiz programs against dealing with persons who are not authorized to enter the national job portal "Taqat" and grab the benefits illegally. HADAF told the beneficiaries not to divulge the official private data to any third party or agency, saying that this may result in the misuse of the personal data of the beneficiaries for illegal operations. It also noted that the entry of non-beneficiaries to "Taqat" is a cybercrime for which the penalties include jail term or fine, or both. The violators include anyone who commits crimes that are listed in the Saudi Anti-Cyber Crime Law. There are two Hafiz programs that support Saudi jobseekers and they are Hafiz Searching for Employment Program and Hafiz Difficulty Finding Employment Program. HADAF provides rehabilitation, training and employment support programs for the beneficiaries of the two programs, as well as incentive to find work, in order to develop their skills and abilities, based on the goals and mission of the Fund to enable the sons and daughters of the nation to join the labor market and participate in the current national development drive. The Hafiz Searching for Employment Program provides training and motivational services as well as monthly financial assistance of up to SR2,000 in order to support and enable the job search. These are meant for active jobseekers with a desire to gain knowledge and skills on their way to find employment. Jobseekers, who have enrolled in Hafiz, gain access to job placement centers, TAQAT online job postings, Liqaat career fairs, as well as numerous education and training offerings, and many other services. They also receive financial support for a period of one year to ease the financial strain of unemployment and allow them to fully focus on finding a job. Hafiz Difficulty Finding Employment Program aims to support male and female jobseekers in the age group of 20-60 who face any difficulties in getting a job. The program provides the beneficiaries with an integrated support or subsidy system through training and qualifying the beneficiary in addition to a monthly financial assistance as stimulation in the serious job-seeking journey. The beneficiaries of the program can have weekly entry process to enhance direct contact with the program, which helps the beneficiary to see all the information and instructions related to the program on the one hand, and the services provided by training and qualification courses, and to help him search for suitable opportunities to work in the private sector on the other hand. This weekly procedure is an indication of the beneficiary's seriousness in his search for work, and thus his entitlement to employment and rehabilitation services and a financial allowance. HADAF pointed out that the disclosure of personal information, civil registry data, and personal file data by the beneficiary himself to any third party might lead to tampering with the beneficiary's entitlement or to use that information for illegal operations. The Fund emphasized that dealing with fake accounts is done by monitoring and tracking them in coordination and cooperation with the relevant supervisory authorities, in preparation for taking legal action against the violators. It is also keen to launch, improve and develop programs and initiatives that boost Saudization in addition to holding continuous job meetings in cooperation with private sector establishments in various provinces and governorates of the Kingdom.
