Over 50,000 jobs for young Saudi men and women in the private sector will be financially supported by the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), said Ahmed Al-Zamil, Director General of the Fund. The financial support of these newly-created jobs will be coordinated with the private establishments where the HRDF bears part of the salaries besides giving incentives and rewards to the young men and women who would hold their jobs in the private sector, the Fund official said. Al-Zamil said the Board of Directors of the Fund held a meeting with the directors of its branches across the Kingdom last Tuesday and Wednesday to lay down a plan to raise the percentage of Saudization in the private sector in order to accommodate the growing number of jobless Saudis reportedly estimated at 600,000. The plan also aimed to remove obstacles facing the Fund to continue with its training and employment programs to boost the skills of Saudi employees in the private sector. According to recent studies, Saudi labor force is expected to rise to 56.3 percent in 2024 with the increase of the Saudi population and decrease of foreign labor in the Kingdom, gradually decreasing the unemployment among Saudis.
