In a previous article, I tried to point out the obstacles, which I think stand in the way of developing the educational system and curriculum in Saudi Arabia. This article will discuss obstacles facing Saudization of jobs in the kingdom. But first, I must express my full sympathy and appreciation for the tireless efforts exerted by Dr. Ghaazi al-Gusaybi, minister of labor, for his endeavors to deal with unemployment and also to open the door for women to enroll in the work force. Such a splendid objective, however, cannot be implemented overnight, or achieved simply by good will or by a decree issued by the minister; for the Saudization program is not implemented in a vacuum. In order for it to succeed, its implementation should be a part of a long-range, comprehensive and integrated developmental plan, which adopts a holistic approach, taking all relevant factors into account.

One of the main obstacles facing planning, development and reform in Saudi Arabia in general is the treatment of issues and problems in isolation from one another and outside of their social, cultural and political contexts. It is a truism that human society is an organized, complex whole of interrelated components and interconnected parts which are constantly influencing each other and back feeding into one another. The relationship between these various parts is systemic with continuous flow of information between them.  This conception of society gave rise to the metaphor of organic analogy, i. e. comparing societies to living organism, or what the French sociologist Emile Durkheim later termed organic solidarity. In any living organism, the proper function of every organ is essential to the proper function of all the other organs and to the maintenance and health of the body as a whole. Likewise, in a healthy society, all institutions and organizations have to function properly and harmoniously. Any reform, whether it is related to the political, economic, social, or educational sphere, must pay heed to this matter. This is one of the cardinal principles, which must be recognized by developing countries like Saudi Arabia, which is embarking on a major, ambitious reform program. Many policies and development programs fizzled out due to their failure to take this simple fact into consideration.

There are many obstacles standing in the way of Saudization: The high living standards in the Kingdom makes low paying jobs unattractive to Saudis. On the other hand, the educational system does not qualify the Saudis for high paying professional positions. Add to these the traditional socio-cultural values that denigrate menial or manual jobs and the inbred disdain of being bossed by someone who is not actually your senior in the social hierarchy.

Let me explain.

The social segregation of women from men and not allowing women to drive is an economic burden to Saudi families. When you build a house, this means you have to duplicate most rooms, as if you were building two houses, one for men and one for women. For example, two sitting rooms, one for men and one for women. Two dining rooms and bathrooms and so on. Other reasons which make Saudi homes very large by any standard is the fact that the Saudis shy away from public places, such as parks, hotels, and restaurants and they do all their socializing and entertainment in the home, which means large reception rooms and large dining rooms with piles of furniture. When your relatives out of town come to town for business or for medical check-up or the like, most likely they will not stay in a hotel or eat in a restaurant but will stay with you. The lack of public transportation means every workingman must have his own car, which he drives to work. His wife must have her own car with a hired driver to do her chores and to go to her work if she is a workingwoman or to take children to school. Birth rates are still rather high with an average of 4 to 6 children to a family. Furthermore, family ties are relatively strong and you are supposed to help your needy relatives and take care of your parents in their old age. How can you support such a living standard with a salary of less than US$ 1,000.00 a month?

It is not only that low paying jobs cannot support such an expensive life style, but many a Saudi would consider such jobs, which are either menial or manual, too demeaning and not befitting of his social status. In the tribal desert culture of traditional Arabia, such jobs, just like blacksmithing, leatherwork, or haircutting, are usually left to members of pariah groups and ignoble tribes of low cast. The outlook of most Saudis are still colored by the aristocratic Bedouin values that consider it unbecoming for a free man of a tribal origin to serve another. It is your birth right as a free tribal person to boss others but not be bossed by others. This is the reason that most Saudis prefer managerial and administrative positions, not only for economic incentives but, perhaps more importantly, for social considerations. Professional hierarchy has not yet completely replaced social hierarchy.

Managerial and administrative jobs are highly specialized careers, which require practical skills and training. The Saudi educational system, with its emphasis on religious studies and underrating of mathematics and the natural sciences, does not provide such skills and training. Without real reform of the educational system, the universities will continue to graduate unskilled and untrained young people without the necessary qualifications to hold good paying jobs.  As I indicated in a previous article, religious censorship makes it difficult to teach true scientific theories and true scientific methods or engage in real serious intellectual exercise or philosophical speculations.

The problem of unemployment, which has reached the high level of 10%, is aggravated by the fact that Saudi Arabia in the last few decades has been experiencing a demographic explosion with a high percentage of the population under 30 years of age. Before this population explosion and at a time when the number of graduates was not so large, it was the government policy to hire all graduates. A job then was guaranteed to the graduate by the simple fact of citizenship, almost like a welfare system. Among the negative outcomes of this well-meaning policy was that it fostered a spirit of blasé among students and a feeling that the government is responsible for them after they graduate. But now the government bureaucracies have reached the saturation point in terms of employees and there are very few places for graduates as replacement for retirees. The only place left for them is the embryonic private sector.

The ministry of labor has taken several measures intended to force the private sector to absorb the new graduates. This is one of the most controversial and hotly debated issues these days. The private sector depends for its survival and running on millions of expatriates, mostly from other Arab nations and Asian countries, who are trained, disciplined, and low paid. Lately, the ministry of labor has put very stringent strictures on granting work visas for this labor force and is putting pressure on the private sector to replace them with Saudis. Many people are challenging the wisdom of this decision and arguing that it is causing serious harm to the local economy. Actually, many contracts are at standstill these days because of this impasse. The basis of the argument is that most Saudi graduates, aside from their high salaries, lack the proper training and qualification and they do not have the motivation and discipline of the expatriates. It is pointed out that the private sector, unlike the government, which is run by mostly Saudi staff, cannot afford waste and inefficiency.

Furthermore, the private sector itself needs to be encouraged and developed to attain a competitive edge. To turn its economy from almost a welfare system to a true industrial capitalist system, which could absorb the local work force and augment the national income and proceeds from oil, the kingdom needs to liberalize its laws and be more open to innovations and new ideas. The capitalist system can flourish only in a dynamic, open and free environment, which allows for the free flow of information and ideas and encourage research and development. The work environment and working conditions must also be improved. The worker needs to feel secure and be reassured that his efforts will be rewarded fairly and that his contracts will be fully honored. This requires efficient judicial system and also the replacement of nepotism on the job with neutral, objective criteria of evaluation, which depend on skills and experience. Rewards should be based on real merits and not on family connection or social or religious background.

In short, success of Saudization requires the reform of our educational system and the restructuring of the traditional hierarchical organization of our society and substitute new concepts of social merits for the older conservative static values, which resist change. In other words, the replacement of the norms and values of a rural, agrarian, pastoralist society with the norms and values of an urban, industrial, capitalist society.