Understanding the Shift in the Saudi Job Market

While this is a massive win for the local workforce, it brings serious Saudization Challenges in High-Skill Industries for employers who need specialized technical skills to keep their businesses running smoothly. 

Key Talent Obstacles & Solutions

1. Senior Capability Gap

• The Obstacle: Severe shortage of senior local experts in fields like cybersecurity and data analytics.

• The Solution: Pair ambitious junior hires with external experts, and partner with universities to align curricula with industry needs.

2. Salary Inflation

• The Obstacle: Government entities and giant corporations price out startups and mid-market firms.

• The Solution: Compete on non-monetary perks, remote flexibility, phantom equity, fast promotions, and direct executive visibility.

3. Rapid Turnover

• The Obstacle: Employees job-hop to higher bidders immediately after receiving costly training.

• The Solution: Implement tenure-tied retention bonuses, training payback clauses, and clear 12-to-24-month career progression paths.

Transition from talent buyers to talent builders through structured upskilling and retention incentives.

How Smart Companies Are Bouncing Back

Employers are doing much more than advertising jobs and expecting qualified candidates to knock on their doors. For them to stay in business and continue expanding, a complete overhaul is happening not only of human resources activities but also of the methods they use to manage their talent pools.

1. Training Young Staff at the Organisation

A lot of firms that are tired of the endless search to find a seasoned specialist have decided to hire young, bright Saudi graduates and then train them through thorough and well-planned programs. With upskilling as one of the top priorities, some companies have decided to work with government programs like Tamheer to support their workforce training. As a result, the companies have established pipelines of skillful people to meet their human resources needs.

2. Redesigning The Jobs to Meet Demand

There's a shortage of talent, but some companies are solving this problem without the traditional route of hiring more. They are reshaping the jobs on the team by giving the most specialized tasks to their existing super-experts (whether they're local or foreign) and grouping the tasks of the general kind into roles that are easily taken up by Saudi professionals. This approach is very helpful for companies wishing to comply with the Nitaqat regulations but not sacrificing their overall outputs.

3. Going for HR outsourcing and/or RPO

The changes in the labor regulations are so unpredictable that many companies are realizing that they cannot handle it alone. They are looking into working with professionals in the field of HR that specialize in Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Employer of Record (EOR) services. With the help of these expert partners, a company can get quick access to an extensive network of qualified candidates and, at the same time, have total control over making sure that all contracts are perfectly in line with the regulations.

Compliance Issues? TASC KSA Has Got You Covered

Understanding and complying with Saudi Arabia's detailed and fast-evolving labour laws can be challenging and may disrupt your business operations. TASC KSA is the trusted workforce solution partner in the region that has been helping companies to stay in line with the regulations. If what you need is finding expert recruitment to locate top Saudi engineers and IT specialists, or, alternatively, going for full-out HR outsourcing to make sure that your Nitaqat situation is fully safe, our arsenal of tools and local expertise will help ensure that we are compliant at all times with the legal requirements. The time to ensure that you secure your business growth has come! Just dial up our local expertise at TASC KSA, and they will guide you through it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if a company fails to meet its Saudization targets? 

Companies that go below their mandatory quota lose their Nitaqat Color rating. This may result in heavy fines per month, an immediate freeze on the issuance of new foreign working visas, visa renewal blocked as well, and the company losing eligibility to make government contract bids.

Is there a minimum wage for Saudi employees to be counted for the company's quota?

Yes! To be considered a full employee for your quota, a Saudi national must be paid the minimum monthly salary. Any employee earning less gets counted only as half the person or gets completely disregarded.

What exactly is Qiwa, and why is it important?

Qiwa is the government's official digital labor services platform. The new law requires all employment contracts to be fully digitized on Qiwa. A company won't be able to include in the Saudization computation a Saudi employee if the employee's contract has not been appropriately recorded through the platform update.

What are the areas that use the skills that require specific Saudization rules?

The government has set the targets for engineering roles (30%), marketing and sales roles (60%), and procurement roles (70%), together with many other different types of accounting, financial, and administrative support functions.

How can a company hire high-skilled talent with the help of an external HR partner? 

An expert HR partner, first of all, is aware of the local market salary rates, has a team of qualified Saudi professionals always-ready-for-hire, and takes responsibility for managing complex digital compliance through government portals so that your leadership team can concentrate solely on managing day-to-day operations of the business.