VFS Global's Saudization Initiative Surpasses 50%; Aims To Exceed 60% By 2020
The company's internship initiative promotes career opportunities for Tourism majors in KSA
VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for diplomatic missions worldwide, is welcoming Saudi talent to consider a future in the tourism sector as the country accelerates its efforts towards becoming a world-class tourist hub.
Building on its Saudization initiative, which has achieved 51% and a Platinum status under the Saudi Nitaqat program since being launched across Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar in 2018, VFS Global is encouraging Saudi students to opt for career paths within the organisation as it eyes exceeding 60% Saudization by 2020.
To date, the company’s efforts have been devoted to hiring over 60 qualified Saudi national interns. Since 2018, VFS Global is partnered with the King Saud University, King Abdulaziz University and Jeddah University. The company is currently working on internship agreements with Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University and Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University. VFS Global’s Saudization internship programs delivers opportunities across all of the organisations departments, with Operations proving to be the most in demand departments interns seek to join.
Dr. Adeeb A. Al-Khaliel, Vice – Rector Assistant for Industrial and Business Relation, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said: “The tourism industry shows promising potential for the leadership’s vision and we are pleased with the Saudization initiative VFS Global has incorporated in its organisational framework; this is playing a part in boosting economic opportunity and delivering rewarding opportunities for the future of our students and also nation’s human capital.”
The program begins with identifying interns’ competencies and encouraging managers to work on enhancing their skill set. Interns are then welcomed to VFS Global with an onboarding and induction session. Just like any other employee, they are provided with a set job role and responsibilities, and the tools needed to perform daily tasks. By the end of the training duration, they receive a report of their achievements and developments.
With a diverse workforce that currently employs over 250 Saudi employees, VFS Global believes promoting the potential of tourism-based futures will strengthen the company’s operations and bolster the nation’s tourism and leisure objectives. VFS Global currently operates 77 Visa Application Centres across 9 cities in the Kingdom.
Mr. Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO, VFS Global said: “Tourism has been identified as one of the main focal points to support the Saudi Arabian government’s vision for economic diversification. As a company with strong foundations in this sector, VFS Global is rather pleased to welcome more Saudi nationals into this innovative space in order to highlight potential employment opportunities and make progress towards KSA’s Vision 2030 directives for launching promising sectors.”
In addition to the internship program, VFS Global has also launched a management trainee program for existing Saudi nationals to build on mid-level manager capabilities and provide rapid development career pathways.
