RIYADH — Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef said that the Strategy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program aims to promote the development of the human element as one of the main elements of capital in the employment sector. He said the Kingdom's target to expand the economic base would require large investments, and one of the most important factors for attracting investments is the presence of distinguished human capabilities. Addressing a press conference, organized by the Human Capability Development Program Committee to brief on the salient features of the strategy here on Sunday, he said that the scholarship program works in an integrated manner with the economic development system in general, and with promising sectors such as industry, mining and others to ensure that sectoral strategies will be served by providing the appropriate human cadres for these disciplines now and in the future. He stressed that the Promising (Waed) Path, one of the paths of the strategy, targets the promising sectors in the Kingdom, such as the industrial, mining and the renewable energy sectors. The industrial sector strategy aims to transform business models in the sector to be more embracing of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence. This requires human capabilities that are compatible with these specialties," he said. According to the minister, the Waed path will focus on the training track in institutes specialized in major companies and on-the-job training, which enriches the scholarship experience. He also highlighted the importance of on-the-job training because the industry, by its nature, always adopts new technologies. Alkhorayef pointed out that work paths in the industrial sector require a certain type of skills. "Training at major companies will contribute to creating a globally competitive citizen, which is what the scholarship program aims to achieve. The future jobs will be different from today's jobs and we must be prepared for this," he added. Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman launched last week, the Strategy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, which represents a new phase for scholarships that contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of citizens, by raising the efficiency of human capital in new and promising sectors. The program included three strategic pillars and four paths for scholarship.
