Tourism & Hospitality | Saturday 13 May, 2017 1:19 pm |

AS many as 1,200 Saudi men took part in a career fair organized by the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), completing applications for some 700 jobs offered by 38 hotels in the holy city with an average salary of SR4,000.

Ibrahim Bardisi, secretary-general of the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), said the chamber organized the two-day job fair at the MCCI to announce different vacancies the tourism sector would have in Makkah during the Ramadan and Haj seasons.

Bardisi said the job fair comes as part of the chamber’s efforts to find jobs for Saudis in collaboration with their partners and the people of Makkah.

Young Saudis of both genders have been increasingly receptive of jobs in the hotel industry, he added.

However, Yasir Hasanain, head of the job nationalization and distance work center, said female job seekers were not allowed to participate in the job fair as there were no jobs suitable for them on offer.

With regard to the selection criteria, Hasanain said priority goes to people who are bilingual. Other qualifications and requirements are specific to job descriptions, he added.

The job fair was organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), Taqat Center and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH).

The HRDF announced earlier that the employment opportunities in the tourism sector would grow by 11.3 percent between 2014 and 2025. Employment opportunities in the sector for men will grow by 21.7 percent while women employment will grow by 34.7 percent and expatriate employment will grow by 7.1 percent.

The HRDF is setting out a strategic plan to nationalize the sector in cooperation with the SCTH. The plan includes providing training and education useful to the job market.