Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH – A three-day career fair aimed at empowering Saudi women kicked off in Riyadh on Monday.
The event, with the theme ‘A Step Ahead” is an initiative toward transforming Saudi women into a workforce in the Kingdom by providing them ample employment opportunities, developing their skills and enhancing their personal desire to learn new skills.
The fair was organized, with the support of the Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF) and the participation of a number of government institutions and international and local companies.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the fair, Noura Abdullah Al-Ridini, director of Women’s Empowerment Programs at the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, said that the public and private sectors have to play a significant collective role in increasing the participation of women in the labor market.
She lauded the ministry’s initiatives aimed at increasing the percentage of women workforce in the local market from 22 percent to 30 percent by the year 2030 in line with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Noura said the ministry is implementing several programs aimed at supporting women to qualify and take up of jobs and these included Duroob Training Portal to give online training from home, as well as engage in self-employment, and free lancing jobs. SABIC is organizing eight workshops as part of the fair.
The first day of the forum included honoring the sponsors of the event, which was followed by the launching of the first dialogue session, entitled “Negotiating with courage and getting what it deserves at work.”
In the second dialogue session, participants covered the topic “Bridging the Gap for Career Success” From the forum in the third dialogue session entitled “What makes you distinctive at work?”
The exhibition witnessed the participation of many leading companies such as SABIC, which are involved in supporting women’s empowerment and attracting and developing women’s talent professionally, in order to achieve the objectives of (Vision 2030).
