MMPL | 6th August, 2022
Saudi Arabia is one of the dream workplaces for job seekers from across the globe. This notion has existed for ages and continues to date. In fact, it’s growing and evolving with time, given the grand plans the rulers of the Kingdom have in place. As the economy grows and develops, the demand for manpower has been growing. The number of people employed in Saudi Arabia increased from 10.390 million in 2012 to 11.641 million in 2016, reaching the highest, 13.391 million in 2019, pre covid, as per a study.
Saudi Arabia serves as the 3rd largest hub for foreign workers in the world as per the 2019 reports. The manpower outsourcing market of the country is expected to grow from US$ 2,694.2 million in 2021 to US$ 5,487.3 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 10.7% as per the study by Research and Markets. This growth is directly related to the massive efforts that the Saudi government is putting in towards the advancement of the country’s economy via industrialization.
As per the latest developments, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia – Mohammed Bin Salman is directing Saudi’s wealth fund to change the country’s oil-backed economy and run it more like a tech-based start-up. And for doing the same, the Prince has directed a yearly investment of $40 billion from the Public Investment Fund to create 54 new companies across sectors and diversify the country’s economy. Another recent development speaks about the Crown Prince’s megaproject – Neom, where his kingdom is spending billions of dollars to develop Neom from science fiction to reality with ski resorts in the desert, swim lanes, and more. These advancements are opening new avenues for manpower across various sectors and will create employment opportunities.
For promoting better employment opportunities, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is working toward making its economy more interesting and lucrative to foreign workers. The year 2022 brought in great news for the people who want to work in the country, but were often worried about the rights they will have. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched an interesting and lucrative initiative for foreign employees working in the country. Christened ‘Contractual Relationship Improvement’, this initiative aimed at protecting the rights of employers and employees of foreign workers in the private sector.
The Saudi Government has stepped forward to provide benefits through the compensation laws, where the mandate regarding overtime reflects the 100% payment of the employee’s hourly rate for overtime, along with a 50% bonus for the work done. The law further mentions working on Fridays or a public holiday is considered overtime.
With the major intervention of the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince, expanding the oil-backed economy to a multi-industry economy, the demand for manpower is expected to grow manifolds to cater to the requirements for these industries to be established over the years. Manpower supply companies from around the world will be tapped upon for skilled manpower to channel the job seekers toward industrial and manufacturing, financial services, energy, pharma and biotech, transport and logistics, warehousing, real estate, tourism, hospitality, and more.
From the perspective of a manpower supply company in Saudi Arabia like the MMPL, it is the golden hour of placing more and more recruits in the country and helping them settle well across such industries. The industrial expansion over the years in Saudi Arabia will provide a window for MMPL, a Saudi Arabia recruitment agency, to channel the job seekers toward these growing industries of the country.
