JEDDAH — The Kingdom is committed to supporting diversity in the local workforce and has been investing in its talents through education, legislation and job opportunities, according to the minister of labor. Adel Fakieh, in his speech on talent management issues in the Kingdom at the recently concluded Talent and Diversity Leadership Forum, said: “Each one of us needs to realize that while putting the development of Saudi's human capital today first, we are building Saudi Arabia's prosperity for tomorrow.” The Ministry of Labor's endorsement of the forum is seen as reiterating the government's support of the efforts to tackle critical issues facing both local employees and employers in terms of diversity. In an interview conducted with naseba, which hosted the forum, he said: “Diversity in the workplace is a powerful enabler of new ideas, close collaboration and positive results. “The benefits of diversity stem from diverse conceptual and practical ideas, diverse approaches and diverse environments, and also from the diverse pool of talent that carries them.” According to Fakieh, diversity mainly covers gender and ethnicity but also education, social backgrounds and experiences. “We must enrich the workplace with visible diversity, but also with the more invisible one: that of competence and experience.” He said many high performance companies succeed because they have engineers, historians, lawyers or accountants all doing the same work. These companies all have professionalism, experience and motivation in common, he said. “What they each bring to the table is a different angle to every situation. We all bring with us diverse perspectives, work experiences, lifestyles and cultures. “Diversity is an undeniable driver of innovation, and the value of that diversity unfolds when values and differences are respected and can be used productively. That is inclusion. “Multinationals usually excel in these areas, and local companies benefit from the transfer of those experiences to local work culture.” In order to be competitively globally, Saudi Arabia must advance into a knowledge economy, he said. “And a knowledge-based economy is not built on financial incentives for its workers alone. It is built on the realization that the future of Saudi Arabia lies in the skills and inspiration of its people. “Local brands need to develop their work culture and foster diversity, building on world experiences in order to foster their global competitiveness.” He said one of the biggest challenges facing the Saudi labor market is creating suitable work opportunities for men and women. “Of course, women's participation in the workforce — aside from health and education — has been a more recent development and therefore has its own teething issues.” He said there were three key challenges the labor market needed to face. Firstly, there was a significant imbalance between the employment of Saudis in the public and the private sectors. “While employment in the public improved significantly over the last two to three years, Saudis still account only for a low percentage of the workforce in the private sector.” A fundamental shift in thinking was required by Saudis and their employers to incentivize Saudis toward taking up employment in private companies and enterprises, said the minister. The second challenge, according to Fakieh, was that Saudis lacked the skills to be productive in their field of work. He said: “We continue to witness productivity rates that are stagnant compared to other significant economies worldwide. “Ensuring the right skill levels and an adequate incentive structure for Saudis will be critical to ensure that our workforce becomes more competitive in today's globalized economy.” The third challenge was ensuring no effort was spared to take advantage of the talent and productive potential that lies within young people and women, he said. The Ministry of Labor does not only regulate the Saudi labor market through work permits for expatriates, Nitaqat and other labor market interventions, but also provides support for employers, the employed and the unemployed, said Fakieh. He said: “The Ministry of Labor and its sister agencies currently offer various employment support programs, spanning from financial and employment assistance to unemployed Saudis, to tailored and company specific employment programs with private sector partners.” He pointed to organizations such as the Human Resources Development Fund and Technical and Vocational Training Corporation that facilitate vocational education, on-the-job training and special partnerships programs with partners in the private sector. The colleges of excellence run by TVTC and partner companies such as Saudi Aramco have attracted attention far beyond Saudi Arabia, said the minister. “In order to address shortcomings in the skill base among Saudi job seekers and employees, we have ramped up significantly our efforts on training and up-skilling the unemployed and young Saudis through our Hafiz (unemployment assistance initiative) and vocational training programs.” Discussing efforts to increase opportunities for the disabled, the minister said: “Our responsibility as policy makers and managers is considerable. “Each one of us needs to realize that while putting the development of Saudi's human capital today first, we are building Saudi Arabia's prosperity for tomorrow. “We have a highway of opportunities ahead of us to bring Saudis into the private sector, and bring people with disabilities into the workforce. “That is all the meaning of inclusiveness: making diversity work effectively.” “For that, we have launched a comprehensive program to foster the employment of people with disabilities. “The program covers regulatory aspects, accessibility, training and employment support.” The minister and 200 other thought leaders from various sectors of society such as the government, business and academia, HR, executives, policy makers, and business attended the forum in Riyadh. Equal opportunities for genders, youth engagement and inclusion of workers with special needs were the main themes of the forum.
