Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — A new training program designed for skills and future jobs, under the name Fuel, has been launched to train and empower 100,000 Saudis to acquire the necessary skills for the labor market.

The launch of Fuel, which aims to train 100,000 Saudi men and women in the first year, has been announced by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the Saudi Digital Academy (SDA), and Coursera in cooperation with the National eLearning Center.

The implementation of the program will be carried through the SDA, which is considered one of the MCIT's initiatives to empower young people and provide them with the required skills for the digital labor market in Saudi Arabia.

Fuel program aims to enhance the digital capabilities across the country, and strengthen work opportunities for the national cadres, in addition to positioning the Kingdom as a supporter of leading talents and an advanced center for multiple partnerships, in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.

This distinguished strategic partnership will work on serving Saudi graduates who are looking for jobs, as well as the ambitious cadres who aspire to improve their skills in digital fields.

This will be done through more than 40 coordinated education paths via 8 main work sectors, and more than 200 training courses. It will also provide free paths to develop the required skills that fit the job opportunities in the fields of communications, information technology and the expanding digital economy.

The program will build bridges between Saudi talents and potential employers, where the participants will be provided with the skills they need to join the labor market, in a way that develops the digital economy and supports the journey of digital transformation.

The CEO of SDA, Mohammed bin Abdulmihsen Al-Suhaim, has confirmed that the partnership comes within the framework of the ministry and the academy's keenness to develop the digital capabilities of the Saudi men and women.

He added that the Fuel program comes in line with the goals of SDA, which aim to provide the young people with the necessary tools to succeed in the digital economy era.

The program will contribute in creating a generation of qualified professionals who will have their mark on the growth of the digital economy, and increase the percentage of its contribution in the GDP, in addition to enhancing Saudi Arabia's position as a regional center for technology and innovation, he said.

From his side, the General Director of the National eLearning Center, Dr Abdullah Al-Waleedi has confirmed that the partnership seeks to facilitate the entities experience to reach a reliable, educational and training opportunities, in a way that contribute in developing the skills of the human cadres, develop their digital capabilities, in addition to empower them to keep pace with the changing and accelerating needs in the labor market.