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Saudi Arabia Aligns Education Outputs with Industrial, Mining Sector Job Demands

A glimpse of one of the specialized institutes in the industrial sector in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A glimpse of one of the specialized institutes in the industrial sector in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Aligns Education Outputs with Industrial, Mining Sector Job Demands

A glimpse of one of the specialized institutes in the industrial sector in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A glimpse of one of the specialized institutes in the industrial sector in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Human Capacity Development Eng. Faris Alsaqabi said that the Ministry of Industry would soon announce its strategy to develop human capabilities in the industrial and mining sectors.

“The Ministry has succeeded in formulating the strategy as well as the national programs that support the achievement of its goals,” he said.

Alsaqabi made the remarks during his visit to the Food Industries Institute in Al-Kharj to review the latest developments in the field of training and Saudization.

Alsaqabi said that there has been diligent work to create 2.1 million jobs in the industrial and mining sectors, and the ministry is serious in the field of qualifying and training workers.

Alsaqabi said the Ministry has started negotiating with Saudi universities, academies and institutes to facilitate qualifying and developing capabilities and providing specializations that support the industrial sector in the Kingdom.

These include the opening of the Department of Mining Engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and the ongoing efforts with Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University to develop specializations that contribute to women’s participation in the industrial sector, as well as with King Abdulaziz University and King Saud University.

Alsaqabi said that the Ministry of Industry is working with the Ministry of Education to disseminate the culture of the Industrial Revolution through initiatives to enrich school curricula with some skills that are required in the labor market, especially in the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its impact on the industrial and the mining sectors.

The deputy minister said that the Agency of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources for Human Capacity Development is concerned with the sustainability of learning, which begins from the kindergarten level and later during the educational journey through various levels of school and university education.

This does not end with graduation, but rather continues throughout life in order to raise the efficiency and skills of workers in the industrial sector so as to ensure that they are armed with the latest skills resulting from the influence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.

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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.