Makkah newspaper

“Go, rain wherever you want, the rewards will come to me,” said Al-Nahdi Medical Company CEO Yasser Jawharji during the launch of an Al-Nahdi initiative to employ 1,200 pharmacists. These words clearly show that Jawharji is not worried that Al-Nahdi staff once trained may find jobs with competitors.

Jawharji believes that investing in young Saudi men and women will result in high positive returns to the nation, its citizens and people’s health. The initiative aims to hire 1,200 pharmacists in separate groups. The first batch consists of 200 pharmacy graduates. The plan is to hire 1,200 by 2020. Al-Nahdi employs 100 pharmacists and 1,500 assistant pharmacists.

Other pharmacies and hospitals in the Kingdom should follow Al-Nahdi and implement similar programs. These programs will be run under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Pharmacists need training and skill development for at least three to 12 months in addition to development programs later on.

The Al-Nahdi initiative trains graduates of medical disciplines and invests in them. The Kingdom sends students abroad to study these disciplines so that they can add value to our hospitals and pharmacies. Unemployment in these specializations is high while the percentage of Saudization is only nine percent. It appears that the private sector is not keen to Saudize jobs due to profit-related issues. The sector emphasizes profits at the expense of the objectives of Vision 2030 that aim to increase economic growth, create job opportunities and invest in Saudi youth.

The Saudi government works hard to Saudize jobs, not only to reduce and end unemployment but also to compete internationally. The latest Ministry of Health statistics shows that the percentage of expatriate healthcare professionals in the private sector has reached 90 percent out of a workforce of 124,000 consisting of doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

The number of expatriate workers in the private sector has reached 111,100 compared to 12,900 Saudis. The total number of doctors in private sector hospitals and healthcare centers has reached 33,800 doctors while the Saudization percentage is 8 percent; in other words, there are 30,800 non-Saudi doctors versus 3,000 Saudi doctors.

There are 45,900 nurses in private sector hospitals where the Saudization percentage is 6 percent (43,200 non-Saudi nurses versus 2,700 Saudi nurses). The number of pharmacists in the private sector is 22,000 of which 1,100 are Saudi. The number of medical assistants is 22,000 of which 5,900 are Saudi.