The Shoura Council on Tuesday called on the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) to ensure the employment of male and female jobseekers in accordance with the applicable employment standards as well as to ensure equal opportunities for both genders. The virtual session of the council, chaired by its Vice President Dr. Mishaal Al-Silmi, made this call while discussing the annual report of the ministry. Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learned that the council adjourned voting on a report of the Ministry of Culture due to the multiplicity of interventions by members. The vice president called for more reflection and to reconsider some of the observations made in the report. During deliberations on the report of MHRSD, the council underlined the need to prepare a study showing the effects of labor contract on provision of employment with regard to the government agencies. The council also called for expanding the encouragement of volunteer work among members of society and motivating everyone to participate in voluntary work. It urged the ministry to persuade government agencies to complete the process of transforming the personnel department into the human resources department. It called on the ministry to develop a unified technical framework that combines the services provided on its technical platforms, which contributes to improving the beneficiary experience in coordination with the relevant authorities. The council demanded that the ministry should support to enable them to develop national initiatives and programs to confront the dangers of drugs and protect the community in partnership with the relevant authorities and follow up on the implementation of the initiatives and programs through clear and specific performance indicators. The council called for a study of the establishment of cooperative societies that provide basic consumer materials for consumers at competitive prices. During the session, the council reviewed a report submitted by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee regarding the annual report of the Sports Boulevard Foundation for the current fiscal year. The council called on the foundation to update its organizational structure as well as to link the internal audit to the board of directors, as well as to expedite the completion of the final design work for all project outputs in all its stages so that it can finish the time plan for the implementation of the project, while taking necessary precautions to ensure that it does not falter. The council voted to approve the report of the Education and Scientific Research Committee regarding the annual report of the University Higher Education Fund for the current fiscal year, and assign a neutral body to evaluate the fund in order to improve performance in light of the recent changes and developments in higher education in the Kingdom.