Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and chairman of the Human Capability Development Program Committee, launched today the Human Capability Development Program (HCDP), one of the vision realization programs to achieve Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. The program represents a national strategy to strengthen citizen's capabilities locally and globally by seizing promising opportunities resulting from accelerated and renewed changes around the world. "The Human Capability Development Program represents a national strategy to enhance the competitiveness of national human capabilities locally and globally to be ready for the current and future labor market with capabilities and ambitions that compete with the world, and that is through: instilling and promoting values, developing basic and future skills, and developing knowledge," the Crown Prince said. "Because of my confidence in every citizen's capabilities, this program has been developed to meet the needs and aspirations of all segments of society, beginning from childhood passing through universities, colleges, technical and vocational institutes, and reaching the labor market, with the goal of preparing citizens for the future, as this contributes to building a solid economy based on skills and knowledge and with human capital at its core," the Crown Prince added. The Crown Prince stated: "The program includes 89 initiatives aimed at achieving 16 strategic objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. The program's strategy is built on three pillars: develop a resilient and strong educational base, prepare for the future labor market locally and globally, and provide lifelong learning opportunities." The program's initiatives include promoting the expansion of kindergartens, which will help to develop a resilient and strong educational base for all children. Moreover, the career guidance and counseling initiative will provide citizens with the capabilities and skills necessary to plan their career objectives. In addition, a number of initiatives target upskilling and reskilling citizens to increase employability rate and enable entrepreneurs and innovators for the future labor market locally and globally. The Human Capability Development Program focuses on preparing national human capabilities, developing an ecosystem from early childhood education to lifelong learning, aligning educational outcomes with the needs of the labor market, and localizing high-skilled jobs through the reskilling and training of citizens. In addition, it will develop a more active partnership with the private and non-profit sectors. The program aims to achieve several goals, including increasing kindergarten enrollment from 23% to 90% and placing two Saudi universities among the top 100 universities in the world by 2030, thereby strengthening the Kingdom's global position. The HCDP's strategy reflects the drive of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to prepare Saudi citizens through various strategic pillars. These include developing a passion for knowledge and pride in values, a commitment to succeed in work and entrepreneurship, and to compete locally and globally. It will constantly develop skills and unleash capabilities. Through its initiatives, the program will enhance the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century. These will include creative thinking, data analysis and technical skills. It will also enhance emotional and social skills. The program seeks to enhance national capabilities competitiveness to grasp the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The HCDP initiatives will provide vast opportunities that will pave the way for future globally competitive generations. It will also instill the values of moderation and tolerance, determination and perseverance, discipline and mastery, and it will boost work culture, which will lead to a global citizenship and enhance national human capabilities global competitiveness. — SPA
