RIYADH: The Saudization of postal and parcel services throughout all regions in the Kingdom has begun, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said in a statement. In a tweet from its official account, the ministry announced the end of the grace period given to businesses and said that the first phase of the scheme to localize all employment related to postal and parcel services is now active. The first phase targets the 100 percent localization of 14 such services, including verticals associated with them like the provision of delivery services via electronic platforms and mailroom management services. The ministry has pledged to provide an incentive and support package to support private sector institutions in the transition. The package will give support for recruitment and gaining access to Saudization support programs through the Saudi Human Resources Development Fund, known as Hadaf. It offers support to institutions across different sectors for employment and empowerment training. In October, Hadaf announced that it supported the employment of 277,000 male and female citizens in private sector institutions from January this year until September. The move to include the Kingdom"s postal services in the localization program was issued in an announcement by the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Ahmed Al-Rajhi, in June. Speaking of the localization of sectors and professions in October, Al-Rajhi said that these decisions have contributed to raising the number of Saudi workers in the private sector to over 2.12 million. Additionally, the decisions contributed to reducing the unemployment rate of Saudi citizens to 9.7 percent, as well as increasing the women’s economic participation rate to 35.6 percent. Al-Rajhi added that private sector establishments’ compliance rate with the labor system and its regulations has reached 98 percent during this year. Across the board, authorities and ministries are also implementing Saudization initiatives. This aligns with the Saudi Vision 2030 goal to reduce unemployment rates by increasing employment opportunities in the Kingdom. Saudization is officially known as the Saudi nationalization scheme, Nitaqat. The Kingdom"s efforts to create more jobs in line with Vision 2030 are showing fruition with the country coming first in the labor force growth rate among the Group of 20 countries during the period 2012 - 2021, according to a recent report launched by the National Labor Observatory. According to Saudi Arabia"s Central Department of Statistics and Information, 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. To achieve its Vision 2030 goals, Saudi Arabia is not only encouraging the recruitment of nationals to private sector jobs, but is also encouraging adequate investment in their future to ensure their retention by employers as well as their contribution to a vibrant and diverse economy.