Faisal, Emir of Makkah, is to patronize Sunday in the presence of Prince Sultan Bin Salman, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, the first Employment Forum held by the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Training, Qualification and Saudization Committee. The forum aims to create job opportunities for Saudis in Makkah and provide the chance for businesspeople to help young Saudis find work by advertising their vacancies through the forum. “The forum hopes to find employment for the young men and women of this country and help them become a productive part of society by giving them the chance to take part in the comprehensive development currently occurring in this prospering age of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,” said Ziyad Farsi, vice chairman of the Makkah Chamber. “The Chamber of Commerce has also been working hard to gather accurate figures on the number of jobseekers through the website of the Human Resources Development Fund which has had a huge part to play in gathering applicants,” he said. The statistics, he said, were then used to organize the first Employment Forum. “A lot of companies, organizations and national private sectors have been involved in providing some 4,000 job opportunities in Makkah and its outlying areas,” he said. Chief organizer Khalid Hassanawi said that the event would permit jobseekers to have “constructive meetings” with potential employers and the chance to find a job and be appointed “on the spot”. “People also get the chance to find out more about the work that the various firms and organizations do and the conditions and privileges they offer to Saudi youth, with the forum further offering training to prepare them for the job market by enrolling them on training courses held throughout the course of the forum,” he said. He said that 4,100 jobs had so far been created in various private sectors, 1,500 with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, 400 with the Shams Tourism Group, 200 with Al-Faqih Group, 500 with the Vermont Hotels group, 300 jobs for women with a handicraft group at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and 300 jobs for women with the Center for Training and Self-Development. “We have received through the forum website 5,000 job requests from young men and women,” Hassanawi said.
