Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – The Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MLSD) and Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) have reached an agreement to stop recruitment of expatriate engineers with professional experience of less than five years, Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday.

Furthermore, the recruited expatriate engineers will have to sit a professional exam and face an interview via SCE to ensure that they are well conversant with the profession and their specializations.

Dr. Jameel Al-Baq’awi, chairman of the SCE, and Dr. Ahmed Al-Qattan, undersecretary for labor policies in the ministry, said the agreement would provide more jobs to Saudi engineers in the government and private sectors.

They stressed that it was compulsory for expatriate engineers to have the required experience in the pertinent field and documenatry proof should be provided to the effect They added that engineers will bear the consequences of giving false information on their work experience.

The agreement comes after an earlier SCE decision that came into effect several months ago making it compulsory for any expatriate to be recruited for work in the Kingdom to have experience of at least three years. He will also have to sit a professional examin and appear for an interview.