Saudi needs more skilled RI workers

Saudi needs more skilled RI workers

JAKARTA (JP): Crisis-stricken Indonesia has a golden
opportunity to supply, if it can, as many as six million skilled
workers to be employed in various sectors in Saudi Arabia,
according to an official of a Saudi Arabian labor recruitment
agency.

Waleed A. Al-Swaidan, the chairman of the official Saudi
Arabian National Recruitment Committee (Sanarcom), told reporters
here on Wednesday that millions of job opportunities offering
attractive remuneration were open for foreign skilled workers in
his country.

"If Indonesia is able to supply around 500,000 workers every
month for the next year, Saudi Arabia will be able to employ them
on decent salaries," he said.

He said thousands of companies in numerous sectors, including
mining, hospitals, hotels, electronic, agribusiness, construction
and service, required semiskilled and skilled workers, such as
nurses, baby-sitters, wielders, machine operators, drivers and
middle-ranking managers.

Swaidan said remuneration in the formal sector in his country
was regulated by the government and that monthly wages for
semiskilled workers ranged between 1,000 real (US$185) and 4,000
reals, depending on the person's skills and experience.

Saudi Arabia's current average per capita income was around
US$24,000, he added.

Waleed, who received an award from the Indonesian government
last year for his contribution to enhancing labor cooperation
between the two countries, called on Indonesia to educate and
train people who had just lost their jobs because of the crisis,
and send them to the Middle East.

"Frankly speaking, Saudi Arabia prefers Indonesian workers
than those from other foreign countries because, besides
enhancing solidarity among members of Organization of Islamic
Countries (OIC), the predominantly Moslem Indonesia is facing an
economic crisis and high unemployment rate," he said.

He said only 2 percent to 3 percent of the approximately seven
million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia were Indonesian, most of
whom were in the informal sector.

The Association of Indonesian Labor Export Companies (Apjati)
said on Wednesday it would enhance cooperation with labor
agencies, the Association of Indonesian Employers (Apindo) and
the government to collect data on workers in all sectors and
train and supply semiskilled and skilled workers to Saudi Arabia.

Adullah Umar, Apjati's chairman, said that the cooperation was
needed to help compile accurate data on Indonesian workers.

"At least, we will have data on dismissed workers in the
banking, electronic and hotels sectors and those who have yet to
get any jobs can be trained and sent to Saudi Arabia," he said.
(rms)