Saudis look inwards for key job skills

But the country suffers from high unemployment and the divide between rich and poor is apparent in the streets.

The country has an image problem externally, and when neighbours such as the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar can grab attention for being more liberal, inviting places to live, it is going to struggle to attract top talent into the country.

The irony is that Saudi Arabia is seen as being easier to set up a business in, with less red tape than the headline-grabbing Dubai. And many of the businesses settling in Dubai see Saudi Arabia as the the big prize - get into that country and there is serious money to be made.

Training and education

Like most countries in the Middle East, the kingdom is currently beating itself over the level of training and education that people receive. In the past 10 days, conferences in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dammam in Saudi Arabia have all highlighted that there is a problem with education. It is not considered to be good enough at school or university level and many employers complained that the skills required don't match those that graduates learn.

So it has been an interesting three days in Dammam, at the Saudi Investment Forum, listening to delegates and members of the government debate various issues around diversifying and strengthening industry in the kingdom. The disappointment is that so few people attended - the auditorium has been half full on its busiest day and barely a third full on the opening day.

Saudi Arabia is definitely flexing its muscles with wider industry. Oil and gas will continue to be its main source of income, but it is putting measures in place to attract manufacturing and technology businesses into the region.

This is vital as the world's reliance on oil begins to drop over the coming decade and beyond, if the pressure for more green transport and industries bears fruit. It is setting up industrial and economic cities, which are at various stages of development, and looking to improve training.

Some 160 vocational training centres are due to set up over the coming 10 years, but equally, companies themselves are - in some cases because they have lost patience - setting up their own training schemes.

And training shouldn't be simply down to the government. If the education is wrong, then industry sectors need to work closer with the education sector. Vocational training equally, should be encouraged - not just 160 centres in a vast country, but more schemes set up by companies or industry groups that give students the skills and experience they need.

As more Saudi companies buy into foreign companies, such as Sabic taking over GE Plastics, it does give them the opportunity to send graduates and key employees abroad, giving them experience which can then be brought back into the country.

Exporter of skills

Saudi Arabia knows it needs to become, as a KPMG delegate put it, an exporter, not an importer, of skills. It should have, for instance, world beating oil and gas skills that are sparking new ideas and initiatives that are the envy of other nations.

But when the skills are missing in the first place, companies need to rely on a combination of attracting highly skilled foreign workers and encouraging better education and training schemes to prepare the next generation.

However, there is a limited pool of foreign workers - particularly those with a family - that will come to Saudi Arabia. Dammam enjoys a location close to Bahrain, allowing foreigners to live in one country and drive to their Saudi office in under an hour. If it is to continue its major economic expansion, like it or not, it needs a mix of local and foreign workers to fulfill roles.

The big advantage the kingdom has is that it has plenty of oil and no need to rush to change. Provided leaders don't become complacent with that luxury of time, it has the space to begin embracing wider industries, improve its business practices and decide just how 'liberal' it wants to become.

See also:
'Risk averse' Saudis look to manufacturing