Al-Riyadh

THE recent agreement between the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Saudi Council of Engineers is something that we have been waiting for. The agreement states that all expatriate engineers with less than five years of experience will not be recruited and that all engineers already recruited will need to undergo examinations and interviews to ensure they are properly qualified.

The agreement will undoubtedly open new opportunities for Saudi engineers who are searching for jobs and will allow them to acquire experience. It will also stop unqualified and inexperienced expatriate engineers from working in the sector. These inexperienced engineers have turned our country into a laboratory as the majority of them acquire experience while working in the Kingdom.

Graduating with a BA in accounting does not make a person an accountant. The person will need to work for a few years and acquire hands-on experience before he is called a professional. Unfortunately, many of the newly-graduated expatriate workers recruited by Saudi companies, factories, hospitals, etc. are not qualified enough. They benefit from the practical experience they acquire in our country.

We welcome all expatriate workers and we cannot say that we do not need them. On the contrary, we need specialists and qualified people who can add value to our economy and impart knowledge and experience to our Saudi youth and help the youth acquire new skills. I believe that the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs should sign similar agreements with other government agencies to ensure that newly-graduated expatriate workers are not recruited. Our market is in dire need of experienced expatriate workers.

The ministry should ensure that only newly-graduated Saudis are allowed to work in the private or public sector and get training. Training requires money and resources. Spending money on training Saudis benefits our country more because these Saudis will stay in the Kingdom and so will the money they earn.