RIYADH: The second version of Nitaqat, the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development’s (MHRSD) Saudization program, has been launched with a goal to provide 340,000 jobs by 2024. The new Nitaqat program, one of the most important pillars of the MHRSD strategic transformation initiative, aims to balance the relationships between the number of employees and required localization rate by providing attractive job offers and increasing labor market efficiency. The latest version of the Nitaqat program contains three new features. The first is a localization plan with a clear and transparent vision for the next three years, with the aim of increasing the organizational stability of private sector institutions. The second part of the updated program will use a linear formula that is properly associated with the number of employees at an institution, instead of current localization rates that rely on classifying institutions into certain and fixed sizes. This aims at improving the balance between the number of employees and required localization rates for each institution. NEW FEATURES • The first is a localization plan with a clear and transparent vision for the next three years, with the aim of increasing the organizational stability of private sector institutions. • The second part of the updated program will use a linear formula that is properly associated with the number of employees at an institution, instead of current localization rates that rely on classifying institutions into certain and fixed sizes. The third update simplifies the design of the program and improves the client experience by merging activities with similar characteristics into 32 choices instead of 85. The program was developed in partnership with public bodies and the private sector, which has been designated as a main partner in the ministry’s labor market decisions. Nitaqat’s first version was launched in 2011 to encourage the localization of jobs and set a minimum wage for Saudis in the private sector. The program’s first step was increasing the minimum wage to SR3,000 ($800). It was later expanded to SR4,000 at the beginning of the second quarter this year.