Saudi Arabia expands vocational training check tests to Sri Lanka

Saudi Arabia expands vocational training check tests to Sri Lanka

Cairo: Saudi Arabia’s labour authorities have launched a vocational verification programme in Sri Lanka as part of an expanded scheme aimed to check skills of workers who will be employed in the kingdom. The programme, undertaken by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources, has been launched in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh in recent months. The programme covers five vocational fields — plumbing, electricity, vehicle electricity (electrical problems), auto mechanics as well as refrigeration and air conditioning. They are part of larger 23 targeted specialties with a view to developing manpower skills. The ministry said the latest step is part of its plan to implement the external track of the programme in several countries. The scheme is part of the Ministry of Human Resources’s efforts to upgrade quality of workers at the kingdom’s labour market, enhance professional services, boost productivity and halt access of unskilled workforce to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia, a country of 32.2 million people, is home to a large community of expat workers. Internally, as of June, commercial establishments in Saudi Arabia became obligated to get professional licences for their workers. The obligation covers workers in 40 commercial activities overseen by municipalities, according to the Saudi Ministry of