Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — The Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF) has signed three agreements for training partnerships with global companies. These agreements aimed to provide employment-linked training in the electric vehicle and advanced electronics industries for 356 citizens, with total support amounting to over SR68 million.

The agreements include specialized training programs both within the Kingdom and in China, aimed at empowering Saudi nationals in the industrial sector and developing their capabilities through specialized training in rare and in-demand industrial fields.

These pacts were signed on the sidelines of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) organized by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in Riyadh recently.

The HADAF signed the agreements with Lenovo Innovation and Technology, in partnership with Al-Alat Company, a subsidiary of Public Investment Fund, Hyundai Middle East, and the National Automotive and Vehicle Academy (NAVA).

The agreements aimed to contribute to the costs and incentives of employment-linked training in the electric vehicle and advanced electronics industries. This ensures the quality of training programs, enhances the readiness, capabilities and competitiveness of the Saudi workforce, and empowers them in promising and pivotal specializations within the labor market.

This collaboration comes at a time of strong growth in the industrial sector, with non-oil industrial production increasing by 5.3 percent in 2024 and the Industrial Production Index (IPI) rising by 2.1 percent. The industry and logistics sector contributed SR263 billion to non-oil GDP in 2024.

The Kingdom aims to increase industrial GDP to SR1.4 trillion and attract investments exceeding SR1 trillion to develop the industrial sector. This will enhance local production of value-added goods and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, supporting human development and empowering the national workforce.

These agreements reflect the HADAF’s strategic role in developing national talent and equipping them with future skills. This will contribute to supplying promising and vital economic sectors with qualified national personnel, supporting their growth and sustainability. It also reinforces the Kingdom's drive towards diversifying its sources of income, creating added value across various sectors, achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, and enhancing the Kingdom's competitiveness regionally and internationally.