Towards Job Localization in Saudi Arabia: Drivers and Barriers within the Services Industry

Abstract

This article examines job localization policies and their implications with particular reference to the case of Saudi Arabia, which is pursuing a strategy known as Saudization. Questions of the comparative merits of local and expatriate workforces are considered alongside the problems and opportunities accompanying efforts to reduce reliance on the latter. The analysis is based on a sample survey of services industry executives, supplemented by material already in the public domain as well as personal observation. The findings provide valuable insights into the work habits of Saudi nationals and concerns amongst employers about their caliber and recruitment. Survey respondents advised enhancing the skills of the local workforce and were resistant to the idea of eliminating expatriates from the employment scene. Aspects of Saudization were agreed to be appropriate and successful, but its forceful and complete implementation by means of legal compulsion was rejected.

KEYWORDS:

• expatriate workers
• job localization
• local workforce
• Saudization
• Saudi Arabia

Muhammad Asad Sadi, PhD, is Professor of Marketing and Management, College of Industrial Management, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. Joan C. Henderson, PhD, is Associate Professor, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University.The authors acknowledge King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals for funding this research and allowing us to use its facilities in the preparation of this study. Finally we also acknowledge Walid Merdah, a student of MBA class of 2007, for his valuable assistance in this research.