Young Saudis graduating annually from about 80 vocational schools across the Kingdom will be provided ready employment opportunities by industries being developed now by the National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP). Dr. Khalid M. Al-Sulaiman, Deputy Minister for Industrial Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said five industrial clusters are now being developed not only to spur economic activities and diversification but also to ensure employment for the young generation of Saudis. Al-Sulaiman was delivering a keynote speech Saturday at the opening of a seminar on industrial development organized by the Asharqia Chamber in Eastern Province. The five clusters, identified from about 470 known economic activities, are automotive, construction, metal processing, packaging, and consumer goods production. These clusters, and others to be launched, will absorb Saudi vocational graduates whose number will increase to 450,000 annually by the year 2015. There are currently about 120,000 graduates of vocational schools who are finding employment in private and government industries. The NICDP is working closely with vocational schools in preparation of specific training programs to be required by the cluster industries to ensure that quality and quantity of graduates are met, according to Sulaiman. The automotive cluster, for example, will encourage activities in vehicle assembly, components and spare parts manufacturing, tire manufacturing, and advanced composite development. “Saudi Arabia is eyeing to be a world-class producer of vehicles in the region, if not in the world,” said Didier J. Vigouroux of NICDP, who made a presentation on automotive cluster. He said sales of vehicles in the Kingdom would grow to around one million new sales per year in the next decade, including exports to Europe and Asia. The Kingdom could be a global producer of automotive components and spare parts, having abundant supply of raw materials, such as energy, plastics, steel, aluminium and glass. Production of components and spare parts will provide employment of young graduates of vocational schools, he said. Tire manufacturing is another sector that will be open for employment to graduates of vocational schools. __
