Abdulrahman
Al-Shaikh
We were all happy when Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, recently announced the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 for shaping the future of the country. The vision reflects the serious steps the country is taking to build a future that keeps up with economic and social development at the global level. The transformational program will ensure that the objectives of the vision are achieved. However, one important aspect has not been covered by the vision—Saudization in all specializations, including in the technical and industrial fields. I believe that Saudization is the most important objective that should be achieved by this vision. We have to Saudize technical and industrial positions in all military, security and medical facilities and stop relying on non-Saudi professionals.
Our expatriate brothers control all maintenance and technical positions at all government facilities as well as the private sector. They install and program satellite receivers, fix cell phones and provide maintenance services to computers, electric appliances and power and water stations.
They also control the food and agricultural fields, which generate big profits. Unfortunately, young Saudi men and women are not interested in these positions and there are reasons why they shy away from them. These reasons can be dealt with easily.
The failure of institutes, centers and universities in sparking young men’s interest in the technical fields is a big problem. We should ask why and work on dealing with the situation as swiftly as possible. There are easy fixes to this problem but this needs the collaboration and effort of many government authorities. We have to exert great effort to make Saudi youth become interested in these fields.
It is hoped that Saudization will be a part and parcel of all transformational programs. We should rely on Saudis when it comes to technical and industrial positions. The high salaries of these two fields should spur Saudis to learn the necessary skills to fill these positions. Currently, all money generated goes into the pockets of expatriate workers.
