LONDON – A survey of Saudi female university students which was published a few days ago has revealed that 87 percent of those surveyed are interested in working part-time if the opportunity was there to gain experience rather than earning extra money. The survey concluded inter alia that part-time work by Saudi students could help prepare them and promote the demonstration effect of the Kingdom's Saudization policy, especially in the retail and services industries. The survey titled “Bridging the Gap between the Labor Market and the Education Sector (Females)” was conducted by Glowork, the first female-dedicated human capital firm in the Kingdom and its partners DAF Advisory Services and Alwane. It was based on a sample size of 500 female students aged between 17 to 27 years old at 10 universities across the Kingdom. The sampling methodology involved choosing respondents on an SRS (Simple Random Sampling) basis. “Countries in the West have their whole retail industry built on part-time students. We believe there should be a mechanism in which the Ministry of Labor looks at adapting a salary-per-hour scheme which could dramatically increase the Saudization percentages in the retail industry,” said Khalid Alkhudair, the Founder and CEO of Glowork. “They want to work not for financial reasons, but purely for experience. I am sure if this survey was conducted for males, the outcome would be different and that's because in the Kingdom, our sons and daughters are financially dependent on their parents. Until that changes, the need to work is limited,” he added. The survey could be potentially important on two other counts. It strongly believes that the gap between the education and employment sectors in the Kingdom can be bridged “through implementing a part-time employment law which enables women to become an active member of society and understands what lies ahead for them when they graduate.” It also comes up with a motley of recommendations for both the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia and the various universities. The two recommendations that stand out include universities holding career fairs, initially online because they are less costly and more convenient for female students; and urging the Ministry of Education to consider introducing the teaching of English at lower grades in public schools, given the importance of English in the job market. According to Glowork, the Ministry recently did take a step in the right direction by requiring Saudi schools to start teaching English from Grade 4 compared to Grade 6 previously. Schools and universities alike are encouraged, at least during English classes, to ensure that the language of instruction is exclusively English. According to Dr Khalid Al-Seghayer, a Saudi academic, “using Arabic to teach English induces less-motivated students to rely on Arabic to convey their massages and erodes the student's confidence in their English proficiency.” Technological developments in the Internet, stressed the authors of the survey, render online career fairs highly interactive, especially for female students. For example, students may interact directly with a company representative either through a chat room or video conferencing. “One of the main concerns about the integration of females into the Saudi workforce is their inability to work alongside males in a regular corporate setting,” said the survey authors. However, judging by the fact that only 30 percent of respondents preferred an all-female work environment, the concern surrounding the integration of female workers into a male-dominated working environment may not be as prominent as it is widely believed. Almost two thirds of respondents revealed that they sought help when drafting their CVs and resumes, and mots are even willing to pay for such assistance. As such Glowork and its partners believe this is because of the poor or non-existent career counseling services at universities in the Kingdom. “Universities should strive to teach their students how to professionally network and emphasize to the latter the difference between professional networking and “Wasta”, lest they feel shame in practicing it. Universities' administrators may help their students understand how and when to network by connecting them with recent alumni who work in industries of interest to the students,” maintained Fares Bugshan, CEO of DAF Consulting, one of the partner authors of the survey.
