Business & Money | Sunday 4 September, 2016 9:56 am |

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has been implementing a nationwide program to train and develop Saudi manpower.

Under the title of “Discovering Leaders”, the program was recently launched by Minister of Labor and Social Development Mufrej Al-Haqbani.

The program was conceived in sync with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020 to prepare young Saudis to assume leadership roles.

The ministry said in a statement that around 200 male and female employees at the ministry have attended so far 31 workshops along with 34 resident experts, all of whom went through an assessment process to discover potential leaders.

A range of activities strive to support results of behavioral interviews and a run of 360-degree feedback tested on the ministry’s employees to reach sound judgment.

The participants have been engaged in several situations including individual and group activities to evaluate their analysis, search, debate and management skills, which allows a group of evaluators to detect indicators for strategic management and field leadership they display throughout the program.

Through such activities, the evaluators have been able to track down the ability of potential leaders to carry out strategic analysis and if they possess a development vision and tendency for creativity, along with communication skills and other leadership capabilities.

At the end of workshops, the evaluators will produce detailed reports that shed light on the participants’ ability to lead and their readiness to take up senior-level positions, in addition to pinning down their strength and weakness and recommending training programs for them.

In the aftermath of the workshops, the ministry will close the gaps in terms of skills by laying development programs that prepare high-potential leaders upon preceding the assignment of their leadership positions and after they fulfill them.

These programs follow various methods including direct and electronic training, simulating leaders to forge better leaders, mediation and observation exercises and academic preparation.

Meanwhile, the ministry is seeking through the Discovering Leaders program to uncover the leadership skills of its young employees and develop them to assume top management positions at the ministry.

It ensures the enhancement of the ministry’s services and achievement of its objectives in line with the NTP 2020 and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.