The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) announced recently that in coordination with the Ministry of Labor it is working to halt the recruitment of foreign female workers for jobs in the retail, jewelry design, beauty and fabric sectors. This is welcome news as it will create jobs for qualified Saudi women many of whom are graduates of TVTC colleges and institutes. The TVTC is training Saudi women in 23 specializations in seven fields. At present the majority of workers in these specializations are expatriate women. While the move by the TVTC and labor ministry to phase out the recruitment of women from overseas so as to help reduce the high rate of female unemployment in the Kingdom is a step in the right direction, it must only be the start. Providing jobs for Saudi women is only the first step, which must be followed by efforts to guarantee the rights of these women once they are employed. These rights include the guarantee of a reasonable competitive salary, adequate work environment and the same benefits and privileges that their counterparts receive in government jobs. Solving the problem of female unemployment is not merely a case of halting foreign recruitment of women workers and then telling Saudi women to fill the same slots. It must also include surveying the jobs on offer to determine if they are good jobs that protect the rights of Saudi workers. The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation does not want to train cadres of Saudi female workers only to have them be forced to accept poorly paid positions because they have no other alternative. A good example of such positions are jobs at some private schools which offer teachers low wages, without paid vacations and other benefits. The TVTC and the Ministry of Labor have made a good start in making room for Saudi women in the job market. They now must go one step further and see to it that these women are provided with good jobs, an adequate working environment and all of their professional rights. Only then will the enormous funds expended for the training of Saudi manpower be justified, and only then will these women be able to use their full potential for the development of the nation. __
