Okaz/Saudi Gazette

TAIF — The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) has opened 23 colleges to train Saudi women in various skills and prepare them to enter the labor market, its governor said.

Speaking during an interview with Okaz/Saudi Gazette Ahmed Al-Fihaid, “In addition to the existing colleges we recently launched six academies to teach various specializations including aviation, gas industry, maritime commerce, public transport, hospitality and information technology.”

The governor said the intake capacity of each academy ranged from 2,000 and 7,500 students. He said the academies were built in partnership with a number of government and private institutions, including Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Ports Authority, Saudi Electricity Company and National Water Company, among others.

He said 19 vocational colleges for women existed for quite sometime while four colleges were opened at the beginning of the current academic year in Makkah, Mahail Asir, Bisha and Zulfi.

Fihaid explained that 13 specializations in various disciplines were taught at TVTC’s colleges with a view to qualify Saudi men and women for the Saudi labor market.

“Abut 65 percent of our male and female graduates of the colleges have found employment in the private sector while the more than 30 percent joined the government and the military sectors,” he said.

Fihaid said the corporation was able to run 25 institutes for the specialized training in collaboration with giant companies including Aramco, SABIC and others where special programs ending with employment were introduced.

“We have also established 121 centers for job coordination in our colleges and institutes and these centers last year organized 119 job fairs,” he said.

The governor said the corporation enabled about 8,000 young entrepreneurs to start their own business and industrial projects. Of these projects, 902 were by men and 423 by women.