Second edition of the initiative will create 30,000 jobs in the tourism sector alone RIYADH: More than 170,000 new jobs are set to be created in Saudi Arabia thanks to the launch of the second edition of a government scheme to boost employment in the Kingdom. The Tawteen program, organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, will create 25,000 jobs in the industry sector, along with providing 20,000 employment opportunities in the health, transport and logistics services, and real estate and construction sectors. This second edition of the initiative will create 30,000 jobs in the tourism sector alone, as Saudi Arabia is pushing hard to make the Kingdom a global tourist destination by 2030. According to Saudi Arabia’s National Tourism Strategy, the Kingdom eyes creating one million jobs in the sector, along with attracting 100 million visitors annually by 2030. This edition of the Tawteen program also eyes creating 15,000 jobs in the trade sector and other 40,000 employment openings in other miscellaneous sectors. The Tawteen program is an initiative of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund to support and boost the direction of increasing local content spending, along with creating job opportunities for Saudis. Saudization, known as the Saudi nationalization scheme, or Nitaqat, is considered a crucial step toward economic success, as the Kingdom is now steadily diversifying its economy which has been dependent on oil for several decades. According to a recent report launched by the National Labor Observatory, Saudi Arabia was ranked first in the labor force growth rate among the Group of 20 countries during the period 2012 — 2021. Even though Saudization has been going on since 1985, the process was accelerated after the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. As Saudization progresses in the Kingdom, the job market in the nation is also evolving rapidly, as a report from the Central Department of Statistics and Information suggested that the unemployment rate in the Kingdom decreased to 5.80 percent in the second quarter of 2022 from 6 percent in the first quarter of 2022. Earlier in September, while speaking at the Local Content Forum, Saudi Transport Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser said that the Kingdom is working to localize 18 professions over the next year. He also added that the transportation sector in Saudi Arabia is working to increase the proportion of Saudi nationals in all its services. “The transportation system is working to increase the proportion of localization in all its services. We are close to the percentage of full localization for the profession of co-pilot, and soon the full localization of pilots will be achieved,” said Al-Jasser.