Job Nationalisation in the Private Sector:

Obstacles and Solutions in the Jouf Region

NAEIMAH ALMAWISHIR

Business Department,

Jouf University,

Sakaka, Jouf Region,

SAUDI ARABIA

AZIZAH ALOGALI

Standards and Calibration Department,

Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization,

Riyadh,

SAUDI ARABIA

REHAM FAKIEH

Economics Research Department,

National Development Fund,

Riyadh,

SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract: - This study aims to present the obstacles and solutions for job nationalisation in the private sector of

the Jouf region. To achieve this, the researchers 1) conduct a descriptive analysis of 3,000 job seekers in the

Jouf region; 2) apply a quantitative analysis of the questionnaire’s respondents (520 job seekers in the Jouf

region); and 3) conduct 15 interviews with business owners. Based on the descriptive analysis, nationalising

jobs in the private sector of the Jouf region faces several challenges, such as the lack of experience of job

seekers, the gap between job seekers’ qualifications and the needs of the private sector, the lack of suitable job

opportunities, and in term of working conditions and high operational cost that business owners might face in

increasing their nationalisation rate. These challenges indicate the necessity of adopting solutions for job

nationalisation, namely adjusting academic programmes, and engaging the private sector in this process, as well

as providing training programmes for new graduates of Jouf University before they enter the labour market. In

addition, it is necessary to encourage and attract local and international investment to establish businesses and

support business growth and job creation. However, a policy of job nationalisation in the private sector can be

burdensome for business owners and might negatively affect their success in the market, thus influencing job

creation negatively. This means businesses might require support from government bodies, institutions, and law

firms in the Jouf region to help them meet the required nationalisation goals. Finally, nationalisation faces other

dimensions on the social, institutional, professional, and individual dimensions, where the institutional

dimension is considered the highest determent to work in the private sector, and professional and individual

dimensions were the least determents of working in the private sector.

Keywords: - Job Nationalisation, (Un)Employment, National and foreign labour, National labour, Workforce,

Job seekers, Private sector

Received: April 21, 2023. Revised: July 20, 2023. Accepted: July 27, 2023. Published: August 4, 2023.

1 Introduction

Nationalising jobs or specific sectors refers to

replacing jobs with citizens, [1], [2]. Saudi Arabia

and many countries have sought to raise

nationalisation rates for several reasons that can be

classified into three areas: security, economic and

social. The Saudi labour market faces four main

challenges, which may explain the country’s high

unemployment rate. The first challenge is the lack

of suitable job opportunities for the local workforce.

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Most jobs do not require high academic

qualifications and thus offer low salaries; however,

57% of job seekers have high academic

qualifications, [3].

This challenge has led to the reluctance of many

young people to accept these jobs, causing an

increase in the proportion of foreign workers in the

private sector, [4]. In addition, many companies in

the private sector do not offer training programmes

to develop the necessary skills to increase

productivity or to engage the local workforce more

in the industry, [5]. Accordingly, this research has

several recommendations, namely, participation of

the private sector in academic programmes, a fair

policy of fines and violations for business, and

encouraging local and international investment.

The second challenge is the failure of the

private sector to create job opportunities that meet

the expectations of job seekers. As a result, two-

thirds of Saudis prefer to work in the government

sector over the private sector. This challenge helped

increase the proportion of the foreign workforce in

the private sector to 78% in 2020, while the Saudi

force in the government sector reached 96% in

2020, [3]. One of the reasons why Saudis prefer

working in the government sector is the difference

in salaries between the public and private sectors.

The wages of Saudis in the private sector reach

7,000 riyals and more than 9,000 riyals in the

government sector, compared to 2,000–3,000 riyals

for non-Saudis, [3]. Another reason is the working

hours, as many jobs in the government sector

require working approximately 40 hours or less per

week, while employment in the private sector may

require working more days and hours per week.

Thus, many young people prefer to remain

unemployed and wait for a career in the government

sector rather than accept a job in the private sector.

According to a study by the National Labour

Observatory (NLO), [6], one of the most critical

obstacles to nationalisation in the private sector is

the labour market’s need for professional and

quality skills that educational facilities do not

provide. In addition, there is a low degree of job

stability for domestic labour in general. However,

the study did not discuss why companies in the

private sector hire foreign workers. Is it possible

that the reasons that prompt foreign workers to

accept jobs in the private sector are the same as why

the private sector started seeking foreign workers to

fill their positions?

The third challenge of the Saudi labour market

is the high unemployment rate among young people,

which is increasing annually due to the annual

increase in the number of university graduates. In

2020, a substantial proportion of the Saudi

unemployed was from the younger generation (15 to

29-year-olds), with rates ranging from 23% to 31%,

[7]. The high rate of unemployed females presents

another significant challenge in the Saudi labour

market, as this percentage outnumbers the

proportion of unemployed males by 17% in 2020,

[7]. Researchers and decision-makers have realised

that increasing the rate of women’s participation in

the Saudi labour market is one of the critical

solutions to reducing the unemployment rate.

Raising awareness of women’s contribution to their

families and society increased their contributions to

the labour market, [8]. Another study indicates the

importance of entrepreneurship in advancing

women’s participation in the labour market and that

universities should strengthen their programmes to

enhance women’s participation in the labour market,

[9]. The fourth challenge of the Saudi labour market

is the gap between demand and supply regarding

academic qualifications and required skills. In

addition, there needs to be more information related

to the requirements and needs of the market and a

reliance on social relationships to obtain job

opportunities, [10], [11]. A good network of

relations is one of the challenges facing Saudis in

securing suitable job opportunities in the private

sector. Lack of information is not limited to job

seekers; employers lack sufficient information to

assess graduates’ job readiness. Decision-makers

could bridge this information gap by working with

universities to develop platforms for collecting and

exchanging data in an organised manner, [12].

Providing training and education programmes

tailored to the needs of the labour market –

especially the private sector – can also help reduce

this gap, [11], [13]. Developing curricula and

training for graduates have been proposed to address

unemployment, [14]. Although educational

institutions and government agencies (the Ministry

of Education, the Ministry of Defence, and the

Public Administration) are considered the main

generator of Saudi jobs, the increase in the number

of graduates may cause difficulties for some sectors

in creating more opportunities for these new job

seekers to the market. Therefore, improving job

opportunities in the private sector and making them

suitable for Saudis may be one of the solutions

available to reduce the unemployment rate in Saudi

Arabia.

The Saudi government has made many efforts to

reform the Saudi labour market through

nationalisation policies in the private sector.

However, the effects of these reforms cannot be

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seen in the short term. Instead, it takes a decade for

a positive impact to appear in the Saudi labour

market. Entrepreneurship and localisation of

specific sectors, namely education, and banking, are

two methods of tackling unemployment in Saudi

Arabia. Although these tactics influence

nationalisation positively, further improvements are

required in terms of wages, working hours, training,

and support for small and medium enterprises

(SMEs), [15], [16], [17].

The relationship between unemployment and

nationalisation has never been analysed at the

regional level in Saudi Arabia, nor has it been

studied from the point of view of job seekers and

business owners. Furthermore, the obstacles to

nationalisation from the individual, professional,

social, and institutional dimensions have yet to be

previously discussed. Therefore, this research aims

to search the obstacles to and solutions for job

nationalisation in the private sector from the point of

view of job seekers and business owners in the Jouf

region. The remainder of this paper is organised as

follows. Section 2 presents the conceptual and

empirical, section 3 presents the literature review,

section 4 present the research methodology, section

5 presents an analysis of the obstacles and solutions

to job nationalisation in the private sector in the Jouf

region, and the discussion is presented in section 6.

Finally, research limitations and recommendations

are presented in section 7.

2 Conceptual and Empirical

Framework

Unemployment can be defined as when a non-

working citizen between the ages of 18 and 58

searches for a job that suits their skills,

qualifications, and experience, [1]. Nationalisation

can be defined as recruiting workers from that

country’s citizens in various fields of business or

specific sectors refers to replacing jobs with

citizens, [1]. Saudi Arabia and many countries have

sought to raise nationalisation rates for several

reasons that can be classified into three areas:

security, economic and social.

The private sector refers to all establishments

and institutions that are managed with a profit-

oriented thought and whose owners have goals of

financial gain. Since these establishments have an

essential and influential role in achieving

nationalisation, the Chambers of Commerce and

Industry have adopted policies and programmes to

aid the private sector in providing Saudi citizens

with job opportunities. Some of its contributions

include searching for investment opportunities in

Saudi Arabia, preparing feasibility studies, and

creating job opportunities for young people, [18].

Job seekers may experience obstacles such as a

lack of experience and qualifications suited to the

market’s needs, their preferences of working

conditions differing from the available opportunities

in the private sector, job insecurity, and other

circumstance that may deter working in the private

sector. Businesses run into obstacles, such as their

reliance on employing foreign workers to reduce

costs. Regulators encounter difficulties in localising

sectors, such as construction, due to lacking a

national workforce that meets the market needs.

Finally, there may be community-related obstacles,

such as a family’s perception of working in the

private sector or the unwillingness to work in

diverse workplaces, especially for women, [1].

There are a variety of solutions to raise

nationalisation rates in different sectors, such as

providing training, emphasising the importance of

education, and encouraging investments. However,

solutions, like obstacles, must be analysed from all

angles. There are also individual, professional, and

social levels. Based on this, the researchers of this

study create the empirical framework shown in

Table 1 to present the obstacles to and solutions for

job nationalisation in the private sector in the Jouf

region.

3 Literature Review

The extant studies that have examined the issue of

unemployment and nationalisation in Saudi Arabia

can be divided into four strands of literature. The

first strand explores the problem of unemployment

and the challenges of the Saudi labour market. For

example, [13], examines the problem of

unemployment and its implications in the context of

the needs of the Saudi labour market and proposes

several recommendations plan to confront the

problem of unemployment from the perspective of

education. The most important of these is to conduct

training and qualification programmes for young

people and link them to the Saudi labour market.

Another study, [19], discusses the importance of

enhancing human capital to minimise the gap in the

labour markets in terms of qualifications, needs, and

requirements.

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Table 1. The empirical framework of the study

The second strand of literature explores

unemployment solutions. One of them analyses the

role of education and training institutions in

nationalising jobs considering Vision 2030, [14].

The study concludes that one of the most critical

difficulties of educational institutions in their

contribution to nationalisation is communication

with employment sectors and their participation in

developing curricula and training graduates. A

system is proposed to address unemployment

through nationalisation and the role of educational

institutions in that. Another study, [20], discusses

the part of the Labour Ministry in Saudi Arabia in

reducing the increasing rate of unemployment,

which is partially caused by the increase in the

number of graduates and the preference of young

people to work in the government sector rather than

the private one.

The third strand of literature focuses on

nationalisation in different sectors as one of the

solutions to unemployment. One study identifies the

impact of the nationalisation of educational

professions in private schools in Saudi Arabia by

examining the obstacles faced by these schools and

how to overcome them. The study recommends

minimum wages and applying the system of

promotions, incentives, and rewards to workers.

Another study, [16], examines the impact of the

nationalisation policy on employment in the banking

sector in Saudi Arabia and finds that there is a need

for providing training, adjusting working hours, and

providing incentives for a job. Finally, another

study, [15], focuses on nationalisation in the health

sector.

It concludes that there is a need to follow a

multipronged approach to encourage citizens to take

up healthcare jobs, particularly those in the nursing

and pharmacist professions.

The fourth strand of literature concerns the role

of investment and entrepreneurship in combating

unemployment. One study, [17], examines the role

of SMEs in reducing unemployment in Saudi

Arabia. Their study concludes that obstacles limit

SMEs' role in confronting unemployment

significantly, for example, pressures at the early

stages of the business establishment regarding

profits. The results indicate that one way to

overcome the obstacles is to raise awareness of the

importance of entrepreneurship and provide

entrepreneurs with the necessary experience to

operate and manage their projects with business

incubators.

Accordingly, none of the previous studies

searched or discussed the nationalisation

phenomena in Saudi Arabia on the regional level, as

it may differ from one region to another; in addition,

each area might have different obstacles and

solutions toward nationalisation, which requires a

deep analysis on the regional level when tackling

one of the fundamental issues in regard of the

unemployment rate. Not to mention, none of the

previous studies has searched the phenomena from

both perspectives of job seekers and business

owners. Therefore, the obstacles and solutions differ

on both sides, which needs to consider and more

analysis from the two views.

Another aspect that needs to be considered, and

has yet to search before, is the obstacles of working

in the private sector, which deter young people from

working there. This is important to consider in the

nationalisation phenomena because there might be

other reasons on the individual, professional, social,

Research Question

Method of Data Collection

Expected Outcome

What is the reality of

unemployment in the Jouf

region?

Secondary data of job seekers from

the Human Resources Fund.

A descriptive analysis of job

seekers’ main demographic

information.

What are the causes of and

solutions to unemployment in

Jouf region?

A questionnaire distributed to job

seekers from the Human Resources

Fund.

An analysis of

unemployment causes and

solutions.

What are the obstacles to and

solutions for job nationalisation

in the private sector?

Interviewing business owners in the

Jouf region.

Obstacles and solutions from

the viewpoint of project

owners to localise jobs in the

private sector.

A questionnaire to examine the

barriers to work in the private sector

from several dimensions: the

individual, social, professional, and

institutional dimensions.

The most significant

obstacles to work in the

private sector in Jouf region.

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and institutional dimensions that deter young people

from working or accepting job opportunities in the

private sector, which need to consider. Therefore,

this research aims to search the obstacles to and

solutions for job nationalisation in the private sector

from the point of view of job seekers and business

owners in the Jouf region by considering the

individual, social, professional, and institutional

dimensions.

4 Research Methodology

Several methods are employed to collect and

analyse data to achieve the research aim. First, a

descriptive analysis of 3,000 job seekers in the Jouf

region from the Human Resources Fund and

secondary data from the Commerce Chamber in the

Jouf region, [21], is conducted. Second, the

researchers sent an electronic questionnaire to the

3,000 job seekers mentioned above; of these 3,000

questionnaires, 520 responses were obtained. Third,

these responses are analysed and reviewed

quantitatively. The questionnaire used in this study

inquiries about the following aspects:

 Demographic data of the job seeker in the Jouf

region.

 Previous experience in the labour market and the

preferred sector.

 Job-seeking experiences and available

opportunities.

 Reasons for not getting a job.

 Causes of unemployment in the Jouf region.

 Suitable solutions for unemployment in the Jouf

region.

Third, interviews are conducted with business

owners in the Jouf region. Business owners' data are

collected from the Commerce and Industry Chamber

in the Jouf region for all businesses that have been

in operation for more than three years. This

excludes companies in the early stages when the

failure rate is significantly high. At least 20 firms

engaged in various activities obtained from the data

selection: restaurants, hotels, cafes, companies,

photography, communications, etc. Fifteen

interviews are conducted with the business owners.

The most important results are reviewed thoroughly

to illustrate the obstacles to nationalisation and their

solutions in the private sector from the viewpoint of

business owners.

Last, another questionnaire was distributed to

the same 3,000 job seekers from Human Resources

Fund. Of these, 130 responses are obtained and

analysed to determine the main obstacles to working

in the private sector in the Jouf region. This

questionnaire examines the barriers to working in

the private sector from different dimensions:

individual, social, professional, and institutional.

Respondents' answers-based Likert Scale measures

each aspect on a 5-point, where one indicates

"totally disagree", and five means "totally agree".

5 Results

5.1 Job Seekers in the Jouf Region

The total population of the Jouf region (both Saudis

and non-Saudis) is 543,000, and the total number of

Saudi workers (both genders) in 2020 was 39,000,

compared to 48,000 non-Saudis in the same year.

The overall unemployment rate in 2020 was 7.4%,

with the unemployment rate of females being much

higher than their male counterparts at 16% and 4%,

respectively. There has also been an increase in the

number of new students in higher education and

vocational trainees, meaning the area is

experiencing growth in the number of entrants to the

labour market. These pressures the public and

private sectors to create suitable job opportunities.

As a result, the number of new students (over

11,000) and the total number of vocational and

technical training graduates (approximately 724 and

956 in 2017 and 2018, respectively) constantly

increased.

According to job seeker data in the Jouf region

from Human Resources Fund, most job seekers are

aged 24–29, female, have a bachelor’s degree from

administrative and humanitarian disciplines, and

have never worked before. This presents a

significant challenge for job seekers in terms of

experience, qualifications, age, lack of conformity

with the labour market’s needs, and lack of suitable

opportunities. Thus, there is an urgent need to

reconsider the curricula of the administrative and

humanitarian disciplines and either work towards

improving their quality or examine the feasibility of

continuing them – starting with Jouf University, as

the majority of job seekers are graduates of Jouf

University. In addition, providing internships from

the private sector for Jouf University students and

graduates is necessary. Finally, there is a need for

awareness campaigns to enable women and increase

their participation in the labour market, [7]. Fig 1

presents the descriptive data about job seekers in the

Jouf region regarding gender, age, specialisation,

residence, and academic qualification.

In the private sector of the Jouf region, the

number of businesses registered with the

Commercial and Industry Commerce decreased in

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2018 to approximately 15,000, compared to 18,000

in 2014. This number is one of the least among

other regions in Saudi Arabia, such as Medina, with

29,000 businesses, and Riyadh, with 127,000

companies. Most of these businesses are in the food

industry, commercial services, and retail, with either

new or renewed registration licenses. This shows

that it is necessary to provide institutional support to

economic activities in different sectors and to

promote investments in promising sectors – such as

technology, artificial intelligence, and tourism – to

contribute more to job creation in the Jouf region.

Promoting investment does not only mean attracting

foreign investments; local investment should also be

cultivated via developing an entrepreneurship

ecosystem that facilitates institutional and resource

access, [22]. Institutions in the public and private

sectors play a crucial role in developing the

entrepreneurship ecosystem by encouraging start-

ups, business growth, and continuity via financial,

information, and training support.

5.2 Causes of and Solutions to

Unemployment in the Jouf Region

5.2.1 Demographic Information of the Sample

In this study’s sample, females outnumbered males

at 68.5% and 31.5%, respectively. Those aged 24–

29 comprised most of the sample population at

73.8%. The percentage of respondents varied

according to their place of residence: 36% were

from Sakaka, 35% from Qurayyat,

15.9% from Dumat al-Jandal, and 13% from

Tabarjal. The most significant percentage of job

seekers hold a bachelor’s degree, at approximately

71%, while a tiny rate (less than 1%) hold a

master’s or doctoral degree. In addition, about 92%

of the sample are looking for a job, and 6% have a

job (either in the training phase or waiting to start

working). Fig 2 summarises the research sample’s

demographic information regarding age, area of

residence, education level, and job status.

More than three-quarters of the sample had never

worked before, while approximately 16 % of the

sample had previously worked, with unemployment

varying; around 9% have been unemployed for less

than one year, and 43% have been unemployed for 1

to 3 years. Similarly, approximately 49% have been

searching for a job for 1 to 3 years, and 9% have

spent less than one year searching. More than three-

quarters of the sample prefer to work in the

government sector, and less than 1.7 % prefer to

start a business, as shown in Fig 3. Since a large

percentage of job seekers are young people, they do

not have previous work experience and spend 1 to 3

years searching for a job, meaning that they are

recent graduates facing several challenges while

searching for work. These challenges can be seen in

the method used for job searching, the shortcomings

in employment agencies, or the need to learn how to

apply for jobs or prepare for personal interviews.

Therefore, a platform is urgently needed to assist

Jouf University graduates in engaging and entering

the labour market. This assistance can be in

different forms, conducting workshops and

consultations on how to search for a suitable job,

apply, prepare for an interview, and write a CV.

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71%

29%

Job Seekers in the Jouf by Gender

Female Male

23%5%

68%

Scientific Health

Specialties

Administrative

and

humanitarian

Other

Specialisation of Job Seekers in the Jouf

region

31%33%

23%

12%

Sakakah Qurayyat Tabarjal Dumat Al

Jandal

Other

Job Seekers by Area of Residence in the Jouf

0,7% 1,6% 3,9%

41,9%

4,9%

46,1%

0,3% 0,5% 0,1%

Less than

primary

primary Intermediate High school Diploma Bachelor Higher

Diploma

Master phD

Job Seekers in the Jouf Region by Highest Academic Qualification

85,9%

0,1%

1,0%

0,1%

1,5%

0,2%

0,1%

0,3%

0,1%

0,2%

0,3%

0,1%

0,3%

0,1%

0,7%

0,3%

0,1%

8,2%

Jouf University

Technical College

Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University

Princess Nourah University

University of Dammam

Alfaisal University

Majmaah University

King Saud University

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

Um Al-Qura University

University of Tabuk

Shaqra University

Other

Job Seekers in the Jouf Region by University

23%

64%

9% 3% 1%

18-23

Years old

24-29 years

old

30-35 years

old

36-41 years

old

More than

40 years

Job Seekers in the Jouf by Age Group

Fig. 1: Descriptive data of job seekers in the Jouf region

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5.2.2 Job Search and Available Opportunities

Approximately 66% of job seekers have searched

for or attempted to start a business. Most job seekers

(80%) have searched in both sectors, government

and private. However, out of the total job seekers, a

mere 6% have gotten a job or started a business. The

methods used to search for work during the most

recent unemployed period varied: most respondents

(58%) used the Human Resources Fund, while

only 1% of respondents attempted to find

employment by starting a business. Around 30%

were through direct submission to the workplace,

asking relatives and friends, or corresponding to an

email. Fig 4 illustrates information about the job

search experience and available opportunities. It

shows that job seekers rely heavily on government

tools (such as Human Resources Fund) when

searching for work, mainly avoiding other tools,

such as social media and networking. This may be

due to a lack of knowledge about the different tools’

importance or how to use them effectively. This

indicates that there is a need for campaigns targeting

job seekers and university graduates on how to

search for suitable job opportunities and take

advantage of all available job-searching tools, and

not limit their job information pool to the Human

Resources Fund.

5.2.3 Reasons for not Getting a Job

Job seekers face many challenges when trying to

find suitable employment opportunities. The

majority of job seekers (79%) state that there is a

lack of job opportunities, 44% of them state that

there is a gap between opportunities and their

academic qualification, and 36% feel that the

requirements for available options, such as

experience and skills, are a likely a reason for the

lack of opportunities. Although half of the

respondents believe that the gap between

educational qualification and available options may

cause unemployment, more than three quarters of

respondents do not mind occupying a job that does

not match their educational qualification either to

later pivot towards a better job or to gain

experience.

Job seekers state that there are three main reasons

why the labour market in the private sector does not

accept recent Saudi graduates:

 Lack of experience (60%)

 The need for specific qualifications (52%)

 The selection of foreign workers due to their

acceptance of low wages (35%)

This confirms the need to reconsider academic

programmes, encourage investment in promising

sectors, and develop an entrepreneurship ecosystem

with the help of key players. Fig 5 shows

respondents’ reasons for not getting jobs in the Jouf

region. Fig 6 shows why respondents feel Saudi

graduates are not readily accepted in the labour

market. Finally, Fig 7 reports the information

regarding buying or rejecting work inconsistent with

the respondents’ qualifications.

5.2.4 Causes of Unemployment in the Jouf

Region and its Solutions

According to the job seekers, there are various

causes of unemployment in the Jouf region, with the

main three being a lack of sufficient job

opportunities in the market (78%), a lack of

respondents’ employment experience (58%), and a

lack of qualifications and skills requirements, such

as language or computer skills (28%). Job seekers

also feel that the most critical solutions to the

problem of unemployment in the Jouf region are by

establishing training centres and training platforms

for the unemployed that fit the needs of the labour

market (45%), promoting women’s empowerment in

the labour market and creating suitable job

opportunities for them (37%), and establishing

employment offices for job seekers (35%). Fig 8

reports the causes of unemployment, and Fig 9

reports the information regarding the solutions for

unemployment in the Jouf region.

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36%

16%

35%

13%

Area of Residence

Sakak Dumat al-Jandal Qurayyat Tabarjal

0% 7%

74%

14%4%

Age

Less than 18 years old 18-23 Years old

24-29 years old 30-35 years old

36-41 years old More than 40 years

0,4% 0,4%

15,0%

9,0%

71,0%

4,0%

0,8%

0,0%

Education level

primary Intermediate High school Diploma Bachelor Higher Diploma Master phD

68%

32%

Gender

Female Male

92%

1% 1%

Have a job

(either in the

training

phase, or

waiting to

start working)

Looking for a

job

I have a

business

I have a

business and

looking for a

job

Job Statu

Fig. 2: Demographic information of the research sample

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84%

16%

Have you ever worked before?

Have not worked before Have worked before

49%

24%19%

Less than a

year

1 to less than

3 years

from 3 to less

than 5 years

5 years and

Searching for a job

81%

5% 13%

Preferred sector to work in

Government sector Private sector Both sectors Owning a business

43%

26%

22%

Less than a year 1 to less than 3 years from 3 to less than 5 years 5 years and more

Period of Unemployment

Fig. 3: Work status and experience

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16%4%

80%

Job searching by sector

Government sector Private sector Both sectors

66%

34%

Have you searched for a job or tried to

start a business?

Yes No

19%

39%

42%

Expected time period to start working

Less than a month 1-3 months

More than 3 months

94%

Have you gotten a job or started a business

before?

Yes No

104

106

174

216

387

There is no financial need for work

Family refusal to work

Negative view of some jobs and professions

Lack of training programs that meet the needs of the…

Not having a good professional network

Working conditions (location, time, transportation cost)

Availability of work, but with low pay

Preference for foreign workers in most jobs

Lack of information about available opportunities

Requirements for available opportunities (experience and…

Lack of job opportunities suitable for the educational…

Basically no opportunity

Fig. 4: Job searching and opportunities in the Jouf region

Fig. 5: Reasons for not getting a job in the Jouf region

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050 100 150 200 250 300

Apply through Ministry Human Resources

Apply through Human Resources Fund

Contact friends or relatives

Contact companies and employers

Applying through a platform such as Linked inn

Apply through sending applications or CVs via email

Contact private employment offices

I did not take any action

Reply to job offers advertisements

Starting a business

278

284

148

134

110

103

Job searching methods

18%18%

30%31%36%

61%

Lack of required

skills in the labor

market

Working conditions

for Saudis (eg wage,

health insurance)

Education curricula

do not match labor

market's need

Unequal job

opportunities in the

number of

graduates

Foreign labor

preference for lower

wages

The need for work is

limited to some

specializations

26%

23%

51%

Is the incompatibility of the academic

qualification a reason for your unemployment?

Yes No Sometime

15%

85%

Would you accept a job that does not

suit your academic qualification?

No Yes

2% 7%

14%

21%22%

34%

Building

professional

relationships

Other reasons family

circumstances

Looking for a better

job

There is no suitable

opportunity for the

qualification

To have experience

Reasons for accepting a job that does not fit one's academic qualification

Fig. 6: Reasons for not accepting graduates in the labour market

Fig 7: Acceptance or rejection of work that is not commensurate with the educational qualification

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10%

12%

13%

15%

17%

25%

28%

58%

78%

Negative view of professional and technical work

Financial support for the family

Lack of professional and social network

Length of work time compared to wages

Family rejection of some jobs

Preference for foreign workers

Difficulty working away from the place of residence

Low paying jobs

Inadequate qualification for the available opportunities

Employment requirements

Employment experience is required

Not enough job opportunities

10%

11%

13%

22%

26%

28%

30%

31%

33%

34%

36%

37%

45%

Requiring training and knowledge transfer for local staff by…

Attracting talent based on job requirements

Others not mentioned

Activate training at the university

Training locals to enable them in leadership positions in the…

Reducing the gap in salaries and working hours between the…

Calculating training and voluntary work as experience

Gender equality in the private sector

Fairness in the recruitment process, from application to…

Localisation of jobs in the private sector at all administrative…

Supporting start-ups

Promote training leading to employment in the private sector

Enhancing job security in the private sector in terms of contracts

Establishing employment offices for job seekers

Empowering women and creating suitable opportunities for…

Establishing training centers and platforms for the unemployed

Fig. 8: Causes of unemployment in the region.

Fig. 9: Unemployment’s solutions in Jouf Region

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5.3 Determining the Obstacles to

Employlizing Jobs in the Private Sector

Several interviews are conducted with business

owners in the Jouf region, and they state the

following obstacles to job nationalisation:

1. Work pressures and long hours (for example,

40 work hours a week) are among the main

reasons for not attracting domestic labour,

compared to foreign labour, the latter are more

accepting of working conditions in the private

sector.

2. Job opportunities in the private sector are

considered unattractive to Saudi job seekers;

thus, they prefer working in the government

sector in the Jouf region.

3. Saudis have many different obligations, such

as social and family obligations; these may

negatively affect productivity and work

engagement, compared to foreign labour, and

thus their tendency to accept long work hours.

4. There need to be more initiatives to empower

young people to work in the private sector and

start a business. There is a need to intensify

efforts in providing support for training,

encouraging employment in the private sector,

and creating businesses through government

and private initiatives.

5. There are varying levels of competition in the

labour market at the regional level. This may

have led to a lack of balance and the eligibility

of a particular region’s residents to find jobs in

that market.

6. There needs to be more procedures and

policies to ensure job stability for local labour.

7. High operational costs and fines for

nationalisation may have burdened.

8. business owners and affected their ability to

grow in the market. This negatively affected

their ability to create more job opportunities –

hence the high unemployment rate.

9. There is a gap between job seekers’ skills and

educational qualifications and the

opportunities available in the private sector.

This may have led to high unemployment

rates.

10. Educational and academic programmes have

no practical and professional training. Most

programmes are theory-oriented, and

universities must provide more realistic

training. Thus, there is a gap between these

programmes and the labour market’s needs;

this may have led to an increase in

unemployment rates.

11. In addition to the above, solutions and

proposals are discussed with business owners

to increase and promote nationalisation in the

private sector in the Jouf region, the following

suggestions are offered:

12. There is a need for studies and statistics that

reflect the current situation of the labour

market and the private sector in the Jouf

region. In addition, the most critical challenges

facing enterprises – especially SMEs – should

be examined to provide solutions and possible

support methods. Doing so will likely enhance

the chances of their success and growth in the

market. This is important because SMEs are

the main generators of job opportunities for

young people in the Jouf region. These studies

must collaborate with related authorities, such

as the Chamber of Commerce, the Human

Resources Fund, the National

Entrepreneurship Institute “Riyada”, and Jouf

University.

13. Cooperation should be encouraged between

educational, technical, and vocational

institutes and the private sector in the Jouf

region. This will help meet the needs of the

labour market through academic programmes

by enhancing the practical and applied aspects

of these programmes.

14. A training programme should be provided to

university graduates before they enter the

labour market, with the support of official and

governmental bodies and the participation of

the private sector.

15. A valid nationalisation plan should be

developed to ensure that residents of each

particular region can secure the jobs offered in

it.

16. Necessary legislation and policies should be

implemented to guarantee the rights of all

parties by clarifying things such as the terms

of work contracts and the obligations of

workers after they receive training.

17. The labour office inspectors should be trained

to assess and monitor violations. Inspectors

should also show fairness when issuing fines

and financial consequences. This will help

ensure that all businesses, especially SMEs,

have a fair chance at success. In addition,

campaigns should empower young people and

facilitate support for them – not just to start

businesses but also to help their companies

continue to thrive in the market through

training programmes, incubation programmes,

and access to resources.

18. The private and public sector gap should be

decreased in terms of incentives, guarantees,

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continuity, and the link between productivity

and continuity of work.

5.4 Obstacles to Working in the Private

Sector in the Jouf Region

As previously mentioned, the nationalisation

process in the private sector in the Jouf region may

face several obstacles on the individual,

institutional, social, and professional levels. This

study uses a questionnaire to gather information

regarding the obstacles to working in the private

sector from the perspective of job seekers. A 5-point

Likert scale was used on this questionnaire where

one indicates “totally disagree”, and five indicates

“totally agree”. Table 2 summarises the descriptive

analysis of the obstacles to working in the private

sector in the Jouf region and shows that the average

answers for the individual, professional and social

dimensions are approximately 4, which means ‘tend

to accept the phrase’. This indicates that these

aspects are not considered obstacles for job seekers.

At the same time, the institutional dimension is

closer to 3, which is neutral regarding the obstacles

to work in the private sector. This means the

institutional dimension is considered a more

significant obstacle than social, professional, and

individual dimensions. Therefore, these dimensions

can be ranked as follow: institutional, social,

professional, and individual.

Notably, there are no obstacles to working in the

private sector from the individual perspective. The

average respondent believes that they can work and

be successful in the private sector and that their

family will approve of them working in the private

sector, as the mean of the aspects mentioned above

is around 4 (with a standard error range [.08-.09]),

which means “tend to accept the phrase”. However,

working in a mixed environment can be an obstacle

to some, as the mean is 3.25 (with standard error

[.1]), which is neutral regarding working in a mixed

environment, meaning some job seekers, especially

women, prefer to work in one gender environment.

On the social dimension, there are no obstacles to

working in the private sector regarding the

respondents’ families’ outlook and aspirations,

social status, respect, and self-esteem. However, the

mean of these aspects is almost 4 (with a standard

error range [.085-.094]), meaning ‘tend to accept the

phrase”, yet they are less than some aspects of the

individual dimension as illustrated in Table 3.

Similarly, the average of the means of the

professional dimension’s aspects approaches 4 (with

standard error range [.07-.1]), which means “tend to

accept the phrase”; thus, it may not consider a

significant obstacle in the professional aspects.

These include the preference of working in Jouf,

adapting to the work environment, available

opportunities, and covering material needs, as it

showed in Table 3.

However, on the institutional dimension,

working in the private sector may have many

obstacles. The means of some aspects were around 3

(with standard error [.1]), meaning “neutral”, such

as the availability of unpaid training opportunities,

supporting resume preparation, searching for job

opportunities, the availability of labour market

information, and the role of employment offices.

In general, among all aspects in all four dimensions,

obstacles to working in the private sector can be

ranked as follow: availability of labour market

information (as the mean is 3.1 and standard error

.1), the availability of unpaid training (as the mean

is 3.1 and standard error is .1), employment offices

(as the mean is 3.2 and standard error is .1), then

searching for job opportunity (as the mean is 3.23

and standard deviation is .1). All these aspects

represent the institutional dimension, which means

further enhancement on the role of institutions to

increase the nationalisation in the private sector

through considering developing these aspects.

Another aspect that can be considered as an obstacle

to working in the private sector is working in a

mixed environment that might require enhancement

in the work environment, especially for women, to

encourage them to work in the private sector.

On the other hand, aspects of different dimensions

are not considered obstacles to work in the private

sector, where the heist means are on the individual

and professional dimensions. This means job

seekers are open to work in the private sector even if

it does not suit the qualification (as the mean is 4.3

and the standard error of .08) and even if the

opportunity is not in the Jouf region (as the mean is

4.28 and standard error is .079).

Table 2. Descriptive analysis of the obstacles to working in the private sector in the Jouf region

Individual

Social

Professional

Institutional

Mean

4.058974359

3.870512821

3.940385

3.296153846

Standard Error

0.068992944

0.077247791

0.077788

0.094632771

Median

4.166666667

3.333333333

Rank

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6 Discussion

Based on the previous analysis, the following results

are obtained regarding the reasons and solutions for

unemployment in the Jouf region:

1. The most significant percentage of job seekers

in the Jouf region are those aged 24-29 years,

female, and have a bachelor’s degree from

administrative and humanitarian disciplines.

This presents a significant challenge in terms of

experience, qualifications, age, the needs of the

labour market in the private sector, and the

availability of suitable job opportunities for job

seekers. As mentioned, there is an urgent need

to re-evaluate these disciplines, [12], [13], –

starting with Jouf University – and to involve

the private sector in this process. There is also a

need to launch awareness campaigns for the

importance of involving women in the labour

market. These campaigns should be targeted at

men, as improving men’s perceptions of

women’s work can enhance the rate of women’s

participation in the labour market, [7]. In

addition the importance of improving the work

environment to be more suitable for women to

encourage their involvement in the private

sector since working in a mixed environment

can be an obstacle to working in the private

sector.

2. More than three-quarters of job seekers have

never worked before (which means they have no

experience in the labour market) and prefer to

work in the government sector, [15]. This shows

that the labour market in the Jouf region faces

the same challenges as the Saudi labour market.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide cooperative

training for Jouf University graduates, [13],

since the availability of both paid and unpaid

internships can be a significant challenge in the

participation of young people in the private

sector. Accordingly, institutions in the Jouf

region need to provide different types of

training for job seekers.

3. Although various job-searching tools were used,

most job seekers rely heavily on governmental

agencies and need other methods. This may be

due to a need for more awareness of other

means of job searching or a lack of knowledge

of their effectiveness and how to use them, as

searching for job opportunities is considered an

obstacle on the institutional dimension, which

requires further development and consideration.

Therefore, it is necessary to educate job seekers

about other available tools and how to use them

effectively and build effective professional

networks. One of the main challenges that

facing job seekers is the lack of a good network

of relations is one of the challenges facing

Saudis in securing suitable job opportunities in

the private sector, [9], [10], [11], thus,

institutions and employment offices need to deal

with this matter in Jouf region.

4. Several reasons might play a vital role in the

lack of suitable job opportunities in the private

sector in the Jouf region. These include a lack of

convenient options, a gap between job seekers'

educational qualifications and the needs of the

labour market, requirements of the offered jobs,

such as experience and foreign language skills,

and a preference for foreign labour, [10], [12],

[13]. Available opportunities and covering

material needs can be seen as obstacles to

working in the private sector in the Jouf region;

this confirms the necessity of the previously

suggested solutions to these challenges. In

addition, an entrepreneurship ecosystem should

be developed to promote local and international

investment in the region, [17].

5. Business owners face many challenges in

increasing their nationalisation rate:

 The gap between the qualifications and skills

of job seekers and their needs in projects,

[10], [11].

 Working conditions regarding wages and

working hours, compared to the government

sector, [10], Obligations and social ties of the

local workforce, [11].

 Inadequate empowerment of young people in

training and starting businesses to facilitate

their entry into the labour market.

 Varied competition for the jobs offered in the

market on the regional level.

 The absence – or lack of clarity – of policies

to ensure job stability for local labour, may

expose the business owners to training costs,

which causes employers to prefer foreign

labour.

 High operational costs for project owners,

such as fines, salaries, and violations related

to nationalisation, may challenge business

continuation and affect their ability to create

more jobs.

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Business owners offered several solutions to address

the problem of unemployment in the Jouf region,

summarised in the following points:

 Providing studies and statistics that reflect the

reality and challenges in the private sector and

the labour market.

 Encouraging collaboration between

educational and training institutions and the

private sector.

 A national plan to ensure youth empowerment

on the regional level.

 Training inspectors to deal with business

owners and implementing fair policies to deal

with violations and fines, and not exaggerating

them in a way that causes SMEs to leave the

market (e.g. a warning policy).

 Considering contracts for the national

workforce to ensure work continuity and

guarantee all parties' rights.

 Empowering young people to start businesses

by facilitating resource access.

 Balance and approach between working

conditions in the private and public sectors.

Job seekers in the Jouf region may face several

challenges and obstacles in the institutional

dimension, the first, through the services provided

and activating their role effectively. This is followed

by obstacles in the social dimension, such as

society's acceptance of working in the private sector,

and finally, the professional and individual

dimensions were the least. Among all aspects in all

four dimensions, obstacles to working in the private

sector can be ranked as follow: availability of labour

market information, the availability of unpaid

training, employment offices, and then searching for

a job opportunity. All these aspects represent the

institutional dimension, which means further

enhancement of the role of institutions to increase

the nationalisation in the private sector by

considering developing these aspects.

Based on the above results, the nationalisation

policy may challenge SMEs' success in the market

and may lead to their exit unless this aspect is not

considered. This challenge may be in the form of

high operational costs and fines, the inability to pay

training costs, and the gap between their needs for

labour and job seekers' qualifications. In addition,

the private sector could be more attractive to job

seekers in the Jouf region. Therefore, applying a

nationalisation policy in the SME sector may

require government support from the supporting

bodies and institutions in the Jouf region. This can

be done by, for example, providing training

programmes via Jouf University and the Human

Resources Fund, educating businesses on the

legalities of contracts and obligations, and how to

deal with fines.

There is varying competition at the regional

level for job opportunities, and residents of some

regions may enjoy certain advantages and

privileges, such as training and qualification

opportunities. This might reflect the efficiency of

applicants from the other areas compared to

applicants from Jouf. Thus, there is a need for equal

opportunities for training and support between

areas, which means there is a need to strengthen the

role of related institutions in the Jouf region to

develop human resources and a business ecosystem.

Furthermore, the unattractiveness of work in the

private sector in the Jouf region may be due to other

aspects, such as long working hours, low salaries,

and poor job security. Other elements may prevent

job seekers from working in the private sector,

which may be related to society or the family or due

to a shortcoming in the role of institutions and

employment offices.

The proposed solutions by the business owners

in the Jouf region are compatible with what the

researchers also suggest—starting with the need to

make some enhancements to Jouf University's

academic programme and emphasising the

importance of private sector participation. Graduates

and job seekers must receive training and

qualifications before they enter the labour market.

All related institutions, not only the University, need

to consider this fact. Moreover, there is a need to

support SMEs, not only to increase their

establishment rate but also to ensure their continued

success in the market by providing accelerator and

incubation programmes. Finally, local and

international investment needs to be encouraged in

the region, which might require establishing a centre

that can provide the necessary data, research, and

studies on investment and its challenges in the area,

facilitating licenses and regulations for investment

in the Jouf region, and cooperating with the

concerned authorities.

7 Research Limitations and

Recommendations

During conducting this research, several challenges

were faced:

There needed to be more related data, especially

regarding investment in the Jouf region. Data

collection required significant effort and time.

The researchers faced a challenge regarding

business owners' responses when conducting

interviews, as many of them declined to be

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interviewed. The research team faced a challenge in

the need for more previous studies related to

nationalisation, the labour market, or even

investment in the Jouf region. Therefore, the

researchers have several recommendations, which

are illustrated in the following points:

First: The private sector should actively participate

in the academic programmes at Jouf University,

with the establishment of cooperative training for

Jouf University graduates.

Second: A centre or platform should be established

for helping Jouf University graduates gain

qualifications and providing support services to job

seekers, such as preparing resumes, preparing for an

interview, and giving job application tools. This

should be done with the participation of the private

sector to link job seekers with businesses in the

private sector.

Third: A centre should be established to support

investment in the region, providing statistics that

reflect the investment's reality and studies on

obstacles and challenges of investing in the

economic sectors in the Jouf region.

Fourth: Programmes should be started to empower

young people to create businesses in the most

promising economic sectors – such as the industrial,

technical, agricultural, and tourism sectors –through

a business incubator and accelerator at Jouf

University.

Fifth: There should be a fair policy of fines and

violations for businesses – especially SMEs. There

should be an initial warning, and in the event of

non-implementation, a penalty is imposed, in

addition to setting a limit for fines in a way that

does not burden SMEs or hinders their fair chance

for success in the market. Penalties mustn't

negatively affect SMEs' ability to create more job

opportunities in the private sector. Legal advice

should also be given to SMEs on how to deal with

fines.

Sixth: A campaign on the importance of

entrepreneurship should be launched, motivating

young people to start businesses and promoting

entrepreneurship culture. In addition, a campaign on

the importance of empowering women in the labour

market and enhancing their participation and

contribution in the private sector should be targeted

toward men.

Seventh: A volunteering platform should be

established to help develop the skills of job seekers

and university students at educational and training

institutions. Participants of these programmes

should undertake initiatives that serve the

community, help them gain experience, build

relationships, and expand their network of

relationships.

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References:

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Table 3. Means and standard deviations of work obstacles in the private sector in the Jouf region.

Individual

dimension

Obstacles on different dimensions

Mean

Standard

Error

Median

Work and success

4.246153846

0.090094722

Family acceptance

4.061538462

0.089225012

Working hours

4.223076923

0.086173117

Job suites qualification

4.315384615

0.082474127

Preference to work in Jouf

4.253846154

0.090260035

Mixed environment

3.253846154

0.127032803

Social dimension

Family outlook

3.992307692

0.085639169

Family aspiration

3.646153846

0.094488258

Social status

3.846153846

0.090359079

Respect and self-esteem

3.892307692

0.088885066

Relative acceptance

3.915384615

0.088743038

Society acceptance

3.930769231

0.09278598

Professional

dimension

Working in Jouf region

4.284615385

0.078927376

Adapting to work environment

4.215384615

0.074055061

Available opportunities

3.630769231

0.107632661

Covering material needs

3.630769231

0.109282073

Institutional

dimension

Availability of unpaid training

3.161538462

0.113912292

Availability of paid training

3.607692308

0.103311972

Supporting resumes preparation

3.415384615

0.107436445

Searching for job opportunities

3.230769231

0.111121813

Availability of labour market information

3.153846154

0.111080527

Employment offices

3.207692308

0.115931916

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on BUSINESS and ECONOMICS

DOI: 10.37394/23207.2023.20.153

Naeimah Almawishir, Azizah Alogali, Reham Fakieh

E-ISSN: 2224-2899

1743

Volume 20, 2023

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Contribution of Individual Authors to the

Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting

Policy)

-Almawishir, Naeimah carried out the

conceptualisation, data curation, methodology,

project administration, and writing the original draft.

-Alogail, Azizah carried out data curation,

supervision, investigation of business owners, and

review and editing research.

-Fakieh, Reham carried out some resources and

secondary data collection, conceptualisation,

supervision, and reviewing and edition.

Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a

Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself

This research is supported financially by Prince

Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Chair for Sustainable

Development (PNAC 2022-SS-04).

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)

This article is published under the terms of the

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

_US

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on BUSINESS and ECONOMICS

DOI: 10.37394/23207.2023.20.153

Naeimah Almawishir, Azizah Alogali, Reham Fakieh

E-ISSN: 2224-2899

1744

Volume 20, 2023