Abstract
This study identifies Saudization barriers. According to the literature review, thirteen key barriers were identified and classified as Individual, Organizational and Governmental barriers, including: Refusal to work in low-skilled positions (1), Inactive job seeking (2), Lack of interest in vocational training (3), Preference of governmental sector jobs (4), Deficit in educational requirements and qualifications (5), Insufficient skilled Saudi workers (6), Low-cost hiring process (7), Lack of Labor market-driven requirements and qualifications (8), Lack of soft-skills and work ethics (9), Low job commitment and Ghost jobs among Saudi female worker (10), Unclear policies and data collection strategies (11), Forced Saudization in specific occupations (12), and Deficit in interministerial collaboration (13). The Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach was used to understand the inter-relationships between the identified factors, after collecting the opinion of human resources experts in different industries in the Saudi labor market. This study also identified the “driving barriers” (i.e, the barriers influenced by the other barriers) according to MICMAC analysis. The findings of the ISM model indicate that the top barriers are three; Lack of interest in vocational training (3), Preference of governmental sector jobs (4) and Deficit in educational requirements and qualifications (5), hence at the top of this model. This study identified and showed the interrelationships between barriers, which is helpful for decision-makers to be able to direct future initiatives to overcome top barriers and develop inter-sectorial and inter-ministerial coordination plans to develop clear strategies and data collection methodologies to support the country Vision 2030 in reducing unemployment rates among Saudi workers.
Published Version
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