91.5% Saudization achieved in SEC
The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has achieved 91.5 percent nationalization of its staff due to the success of its policy of training and developing the skills of Saudis who have replaced expatriate workers in the past few years, according to Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al-Obayed, senior vice president of human resources at SEC.
Al-Obayed said over 23,000 Saudi engineers and technicians are currently handling operation, management and maintenance of the SEC’s electric system.
“The policy of nationalization of different technical and administrative jobs is progressing at an accelerated pace in all sectors, thanks to the efficiency of young national talent and the role played by the company’s training institutes and centers. These institutes and centers seek to upgrade the skills of many national cadres annually and at the beginning of 2017 they have successfully boosted nationalization rates to a record level at generation plants and technical jobs in different specialties of the power industry in the Kingdom,” he added.
Al-Obayed attributed the high rate of nationalization to SEC’s strategy of attracting technical and administrative competencies through leaders and talent management programs. He said SEC is one of the leading companies attracting local talent in the Kingdom through its adoption of a number of financial incentives and creative programs for outstanding performers.
“We are aiming at more than nationalizing all jobs at a record level by depending on national cadres to implement the Kingdom’s strategy of nationalizing the electric industries. These cadres are our only means of transforming the Kingdom into a promising regional center for electric industries. The government aims to provide additional electric jobs for Saudi youths in order to support the national economy and achieve selfsufficiency in equipment and materials, in addition to exporting them to the neighboring countries in line with Vision 2030 and its objectives to diversify the sources of national economy,” he added.
The SEC CEO said Saudis have been trained in international companies and factories as well as specialized institutes in the US and Europe. “We have signed agreements with China, Japan and South Korea to train national cadres and transfer advanced technologies into the Kingdom,” he added.