RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has been ranked first globally for the percentage of students enrolled in post-secondary non-tertiary education under technical and vocational training programs, Saudi Press Agency reported citing data from the Global Knowledge Index 2022. As the Kingdom is making steady progress in the technical and vocational training sector, Ahmad bin Fahad Al-Fahaid, governor of Technical and Vocational Training Corp. conveyed his gratitude to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Al-Fahaid noted that this achievement is the result of the support offered by the Kingdom’s visionary leadership, which is playing a crucial role in equipping its citizens to actively contribute to the development and renaissance of the country. He further pointed out that TVTC is working to expand the number of colleges and educational institutions in the vocational training sector. According to Al-Fahaid, TVTC succeeded in attracting 28 percent of high school graduates to enroll in technical and vocational training in 2021, 4 percent higher than the stipulated target of 24 percent. Earlier in November, TVTC announced that it is currently training 6,189 people in preparation for jobs in the tourism and hotel industries. TVTC’s aims align with Saudi Vision 2030, under which efforts are exerted to cut the unemployment rate in the Kingdom from 11.6 percent to 7 percent by 2030. The Global Knowledge Index is issued annually by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation in association with UN Development Program, and it aims to provide reliable data to help countries and decision-makers to understand the present scenario and challenges in various sectors, along with discovering future paths. The index contains seven composite sub-indices that focus on the performance of six vital knowledge sectors: pre-university education; technical and vocational education and training; higher education; information and communications technology; research, development, and innovation; and economy. It also has a special sub-index for enabling environment that diagnoses social, political, economic, health, and environmental contexts for those sectors.