JEDDAH: The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has announced a plan to set up national and regional councils. The aim of the councils is to activate the public-private partnership and resolve challenges that obstruct further economic growth in carrying out the ambitious plan outlined in the National Transformation Program 2020 (NTP) and in Saudi Vision 2030. The initiative will help support government entities in order to understand the needs of the labor market and also to involve the private sector in designing and implementing nationalization solutions as well as increasing the number of good job opportunities for Saudi nationals in various sectors. The establishment of the councils attempts to improve cooperation among representatives of the private sector, companies, chambers of commerce and public entities in order to lay out effective policies that overcome various issues and to exchange best practices in the empowerment of the sectors so that they can achieve their growth objectives.
The ministry said the councils would increase joint cooperation between the private and public sectors and tackle crucial issues involving the number of Saudi workers in the private sector, the lack of a reliable database on private sector workers, low productivity, lack of creativity and skill-sets in the private sector as well as the presence of expats in certain sectors. At the same time, the NTP is seen as a step toward realizing Saudi Vision 2030, which will help to achieve economic development in the Kingdom by setting a number of objectives to carry out its objectives. The ministry’s initiatives come within the first phase of the NTP and will be implemented in partnership with the Council of Economic Affairs and Development and another 18 government bodies. The plan is expected to usher the Kingdom into the digital age, enhance the public-private partnership, generate job opportunities and expand the local content through the implementation of 755 initiatives that focus on both economic and social development fields.
