Saudi to localise IT, communication jobs in kingdom

Saudi Arabia will localise jobs in the information technology (IT) and communications sectors.

According to a decision announced by the Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, the localisation will help create 9,000 jobs in the private sector.

The decision will be applicable to all business establishments with five or more workers in communications and IT jobs, application development, programming and analysis and technical support, local media reported.

The ministry has set a minimum salary bracket of SAR7,000 ($1,866) for specialised jobs and SAR5,000 for technical jobs.

The decision forms part of a flurry of incentives undertaken by the government to localise professions to facilitate graduates and assist them in securing employment opportunities.

It is also intended to ensure a suitable and stimulating work environment in the private sector.

Saudi has been aggressively pushing to nationalise its workforce in recent years.

In August, Saudi announced plans to localise 20 per cent of engineering jobs in the country.

Read: Saudi to localise engineering jobs from 2021

Saudisation rules in the kingdom – particularly in the retail and hospitality sector – saw hundreds of thousands of legal foreign workers leave the country in 2018 and 2019.

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