RIYADH — Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi said that the Saudization programs target the creation of 213,000 jobs for Saudis during the year 2021. Addressing businessmen and members of the chamber of commerce in Al-Jouf region, he emphasized that the ministry has a distinguished partnership with the Federation of Saudi Chambers in all its decisions related to the labor market, saying "this is what gives it quality and comprehensiveness." A number of ministry officials and representatives of the private sector also attended the meeting. "We realize the importance of accelerating businesses and raising the quality of services provided, and we have a serious move towards digital transformation, as more than 21,000 operations are currently carried out via electronic platforms per day, compared to a maximum of 700 transactions previously through the labor offices," he said. Al-Rajhi said that work is under way in light of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 to ensure bright future of the labor market and prepare for changes in new work patterns. "We are working for the formal launch of the Future Work Company and through it we have already initiated the self-employment platform and issued more than 800,000 self-employment work documents." The minister also spoke about the initiatives to create remote work opportunities. More than 52,000 male and female citizens are expected to benefit from the remote work platform. "Through the Nitaqat Saudization program, we reduced the number of classified activities to 32 and linked the Saudization rates to an equation based on the number of workers to facilitate the private sector's interaction with the program and increase the participation of more Saudis in the labor market," he added.
