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Ready to explore ‘Saudi Arabia this week’ by Analytix, with the latest weekly news updates and business insights from Saudi Arabia. Here we go!
From 04th August to 10th August 2024
153,000 Saudis land private sector jobs in the first half of 2024
In the first half of the year 2024, more than 153,000 Saudi men and women have been employed in the private sector with the help of Human Resources Development Fund, led by Turki bin Abdullah Al-Jawini. The fund distributed SR 3.79 billion ($ 1 billion) for training, employment, as well as empowerment programs to private sector establishments. These policies benefited 1.4 million Saudis and 100,000 businesses across the major sectors in the Kingdom.
Al-Jawini also pointed out that the fund is committed to supporting Saudi Arabia’s development goals, identifying needs in the business sector, and developing a qualified workforce. Measures are aimed at developing the Saudis’ skills, increasing their participation in the labor market, and increasing the role of the private sector in localization. It also intends to enhance cooperation with organizations that train and employ and empower the national workforce with a purpose of increasing their adaptability and resilience in the labor market.
Through programs and services, the fund has played a crucial role in influencing and enhancing the benefits for both individuals and businesses and has demonstrated adaptability to changes in the labor market. Also, the fund is in the process of developing targeted training, empowerment, and support programs for Saudi employees, and this will support Saudi Vision 2030 in human capacity development and labor market strategy.
Red Sea Fund now open for post-production grants
The Red Sea International Film Festival has now invited applications for the fourth phase of the Red Sea Fund, a financing platform that provides funding for post-production film projects. Filmmakers can apply until the 21st of August. The fund is intended for films that require some final touches after shooting and is open to projects of various genres, including documentaries, fiction, animation, episodic, short, and feature films. Applicants have to meet some qualification criteria, including being a director of Arab or African origin, and the films should be at least 60 minutes in length.
Since its inception in the year 2021, the Red Sea Fund has catered more than 250 movies, launched industry supporting programs, empowering women in the movie industry, and financed student graduation films. It also takes part in international festivals and offers awards to the best projects.
Saudi Arabia ranks first in Employment Growth Index among 67 countries
According to the Global Competitiveness Yearbook 2024, Saudi Arabia has been ranked as the leading country in terms of employment generation and labor market growth amongst 67 countries. The country has achieved positive changes in all the labor market indicators, which has consecutively risen in global rankings: from 24th in 2022 to 16th in 2024. This is due to the Saudi government’s continuous reforms and amendments in labor laws with the purpose of improving the work environment.
Recent reforms have included the amendment of several articles in the Saudi Labor Law that have been approved by the Saudi Council of Ministers. These changes seek to increase job security, protect contractual rights, and improve employees’ training opportunities. The amendments are just one of the reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to make Saudi Arabia’s labor market align with international standards and boost the Saudi economy.
The amendments were prepared after extensive consultations; more than 1,300 participants were involved in the discussions, including representatives of government bodies, private companies, labor committees, and human resources professionals. These efforts have led to modification of 38 articles, deletion of 7 articles, and addition of 2 new articles of the Labor Law.
The labor market reforms have already yielded fruits with over 34,600 Saudi citizens getting employed in the private sector in July, doubling from June. The total number of workers in the private sector came to 11.473 million, with the Saudi citizens being more than 2.342 million of this workforce. All these developments show that Saudi Arabia is keen on improving its labor market and contributing to Vision 2030.
Saudi Entertainment Authority records over 16 million visitors to events in Q2 2024
The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) revealed that during the Second Quarter of this year visitors to the events reached more than 16 million, an increase of about 130 percent compared to the same period of the previous year where visitors recorded were seven million.
The total number of licenses recorded was 1529, and it has increased by 7.3% compared to the number of licenses issued during the second quarter of 2023, which was 1425.
