Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has started the first phase of the Professional Verification program in Egypt in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower.
The program twins the skill-inspection system in the two countries to ensure that appropriately skilled laborers work in the Saudi market, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
The first phase of the program targets five vocational fields — plumbing, electricity, welding, automobile mechanics and carpentry. The ministry plans to add more vocational fields in the coming phases.
This initiative in Egypt is part of the ministry’s endeavor to activate the program in several countries after its successful implementation in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The program helps to ensure that workers have the skills necessary to work in the profession they choose before entering the Saudi labor market.
The certificate attesting to professional verification has become a key requirement when recruiting laborers to perform specific jobs in the Kingdom.
The certificate may be granted by an accredited inspection center in the workers’ country prior to the workers’ arriving in Saudi Arabia, after passing two tests, one theoretical and one practical.
The program, together with a series of other development programs, falls under the umbrella of the professional accreditation system. It reflects the Kingdom’s aim to create a labor market that is characterized by flexibility, rapid response to variables and attracts higher skills.