The hospitality industry has undertaken Saudization of key management positions and specialized professions in the tourism and hotel industry in line with the new decision of the government spelled out by Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi last week.
This measure will create more employment to Saudi youth and open up new career opportunities for them in this sector which still is dominated by expatriates, said an official T the Ministry’s office in Dammam.
The new decision includes hotels classified as 3-star and above, resorts, hotel suites, and villas classified as 4-star and above. The ministry’s decision stipulates 100 percent Saudization of jobs in the tourism hospitality sector in three tracks.
First, jobs in the following administrations (sections) and their subsidiary units will be restricted to Saudi men and women only. These include reservation, purchases, marketing and front desks, except occupations like that of bellboy, parking valet, driver and doorman.
The decision comes into effect on October 29/30 2019. The decision also includes 100 percent Saudization of some jobs, as of June 22, 2020
The occupations include hotel deputy manager, assistant head of IT Administration, director and assistant director of sales administration; sales representative and sales manager, fitness club supervisor, public services supervisor in a hotel, goods receiving clerk, room service orders clerk, restaurant or café waiter, tourism enquiry clerk, executive secretary, general administrative clerk, administrative employee and administrative coordinator.
The hotel industry has already started receiving applications from the Saudi applicants. “ we plan to short list them and then sent them on an extensive training program so that that they are well versed with their skills and hotel passes through these testing transition smoothly,” said general manager of a five star hotel in Al-Khobar.
Actually in anticipation of Saudization of jobs which are not in current list, we have already started looking for Saudi replacements, he said.
Of late Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage has introduced some very drastic measures to streamline hospitality industry and bring them at par with International standards. In addition the Ministry of Municipal and Social Affairs has levied separate 5 percent tax on each occupied room of the hotels. This is in addition to VAT.
Meanwhile, the Labor Ministry has also made it compulsory to Saudize at least 70 percent of jobs in the two occupations — sales manager, and events and conferences sales manager, as of December 2020.
The decision has banned employers from recruiting expatriate workers, or transferring their services, assigning work to them, or using them in the jobs mentioned in the decision, whether directly or indirectly.
SOURCE : ALBILAD
