By Fatima Muhammad
JEDDAH — The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) has said it has expanded its efforts to include more Saudis in the tourism training to contribute to sustainable development and diversify the economy based on "Vision 2030" of the Kingdom.
Majid Al-Enizi, dean of Tourism and Hotel College in Madinah, said they have singed 30 agreements to employ graduates in different companies working in the catering, hotel travel agencies and other tourist programs.
About 98 percent of their graduates are employed, added Al-Enizi.
He said they have successfully provided the qualified manpower to tourism and hotel sectors.
The Madinah training institute is the first to to be launched in the Kingdom. Later on other institutes were opened in Taif, Jazan and in Riyadh.
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage anticipates that there will be one million jobs in the tourism sector by 2020.
Meanwhile, the TVTC also announced that it had qualified as many as 12,351 prisoners in 10 various specializations through 36 training centers it has established in a number of prisons in various areas.
The corporation said the specializations consisted of electricity, computer, electronics, car mechanics, sewing, cooling, air-conditioning, wielding and sewage connections.
The corporation’s spokesman, Fahd Al-Otaibi said the training of the inmates was provided through cooperation with the General Directorate of Prisons.
“We aim to qualify the prisoners providing them with the skills required for the labor market and prepare them to merge in the society once they complete their prison terms,” he said.
Otaibi said every trainee is paid SR800 every month during the entire training period and is awarded a certificate on completion of the training.
He said the program of vocational training for the prisoners started about 13 years ago and a large number of the inmates have vocationally qualified since then.
“We will establish a number of new training centers in many other prisons and will expand our training for the inmates to make them useful members of the society,” the official said.
