The Talent Gap in Saudi
Things are changing in The Kingdom.
It has been reported by the Saudi Gazette that since easing the visa regulations in September this year Saudi Arabia has attracted over 50,000 new tourists from the likes of the UK and China.
Riyadh recently hosted a heavyweight world title fight, an event that gets global recognition, was reportedly watched by over 3 million people on pay-per-view, and was the first of its kind in the Middle East.
It appears the Saudi Vision 2030 is starting to take effect then…
But the challenge of talent for finding IT Staffing in Saudi is still real. Visiting KSA to sample some of the historic sights or watch a global sporting event is one thing, but moving your life there is something entirely different.
With a lack of proven solutions for IT Staffing in Saudi, I see that there’s a fantastic opportunity here to begin a migration of high-quality global talent to The Kingdom. In the last 4 years working in the Middle East, the number of vacancies in Saudi Arabia that my clients have requested my help on has risen exponentially, leading to us hiring on the ground Headhunters in Saudi Arabia at AIQU.
Whilst the KSA Government is clearly investing heavily in Tourism, there’s also a significant amount of investment in Technology and Digital initiatives. In 2018 the Government launched the Saudi Venture Capital Company with funding of $1.33bn and there have been big investment stories with the likes of NaNa Direct, UnitX and Unifonic taking significant cash injections.
This opens the door for a true Technology and Digital Recruitment Agency in Saudi Arabia that can successfully attract high caliber global talent to the region, and with cultural changes coming thick and fast the timing seems perfect. In my experience speaking with Western Expats who have made the move, I have heard nothing but positive feedback on their experience living in The Kingdom, and there’s no doubt that the classic ‘big fish in a small pond’ analogy couldn’t be more appropriate to highly skilled individuals moving to the region.
I think the number one issue in attracting talent to the country is awareness…
Coming from the UK myself I know that the idea of relocating to Saudi Arabia for many of my friends, family and ex-colleagues is a completely alien concept, but this is really due to lack of knowledge and understanding more than a reluctance to move. We need to tell the story, share the changes that are happening and allow the rest of the world to open their eyes to what will be, over the next decade, one of the most rapidly growing and exciting Technology and Digital sectors on the planet.
At AIQU, we see Saudi Arabia as our most lucrative growth market and helping businesses to secure the right IT staffing in Saudi is one of our core strategic initiatives for 2020, we’re very excited about what the future could hold!
Things are changing in The Kingdom.
