JEDDAH — Saudi mobile phone shop owners are complaining that customers are turning to expat freelancers for maintenance work after Saudis replaced all expatriate technicians following the 100% Saudization of the telecom sector.
Although most shop owners responded positively to the Saudization move, but they said that a lack of adequate maintenance service is forcing customers to look for technicians who worked in those shops previously.
This has led to a recession in the telecom market, Saudis say.
Hamad Al-Zubaidi, a Saudi who has rented a shop for smart phone sales and maintenance, said the market in his city is being controlled by what he called “market players,” who are all expatriates.
“Many shops refuse to employ young Saudis in maintenance,” said Al-Zubaidi, citing the rejection of a young man with more than 12 years’ of experience in the field.
He blamed the decision on conspiracies hatched by expatriate technicians.
A maintenance technician of Arab nationality was carrying a bag full of smart phones to sell. He was accompanied by a group of colleagues who were excluded from the market after Saudization.
With regard to supervisory tours to implement the Saudization decision, Al-Zubaidi said that the inspectors do not go beyond the doors of shops.
Many young Saudis said they need intensive on-the-job training after attending the programs offered by the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation.
Customers do not trust the talent of young Saudis who have undergone a short period of training. This is why expatriates are still dominating the market, they said.
A shop owner complained about the acute recession in the market after he had rented his shop. He said this was in addition to the high monthly salaries demanded by Saudi sales staff.
He said he needs to generate more income to cover the expenses before thinking of making any profit.
“I did not get qualified technicians,” he said.
