SAUDI ARABIA: This initiative, launched in 2022, has successfully covered over 1,000 professions worldwide, aiming to elevate service standards within the kingdom’s labour market.

The programme is designed to verify expat workers’ skills and qualifications in accordance with the unified Saudi classification of professions.

As part of its objectives, the accreditation scheme plans to expand its reach to more countries and professions, raising awareness among both government and private sector employers about the importance of employing qualified and skilled expatriate workers. This will facilitate smoother access to the Saudi labour market for these individuals.

The accreditation programme comprises two key services: “Professional Verification” and “Professional Examination.” The Professional Verification service, which is fully automated, aims to confirm the skills and certificates of expat workers in high-skilled roles within a maximum of 15 working days. Conversely, the Vocational Examination service evaluates the skills of medium- and low-skilled workers through practical and theoretical tests, both before and after their arrival in Saudi Arabia.

So far, the Professional Accreditation Programme has included five countries recognized as major exporters of labour to Saudi Arabia: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Egypt. This scheme is part of broader efforts by the Ministry of Human Resources to enhance the quality of workers in the Saudi labour market, boost productivity, and prevent unskilled labour from entering the kingdom.

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