Excellent and informative post, thanks. It sounds like a bloody mess. I get the impression that if the government really wants Saudisation to work they will need to try some tough love, stop the handouts in the guise of "jobs" and so on. Why should a spoiled young Saudi (like the offspring of wealthy business families anywhere, let's face it) settle for anything less than a do-nothing high-flying well-paid job if those are freely available, after all. And perhaps the companies required to hire Saudis should also be allowed to throw them out for inadequate attendance/performance.

As for the quota system in academia, it's sad that the Saudis are so determined to keep it mediocre. Do you think the daughters of the elite will make enough noise about declining standards that the government will be forced to stop its Saudisation in that field? Will any of them do serious postgraduate work themselves so as not to leave the field to cribbers?

Brilliant post Meph. Are you sure that saudisation legislation includes arresting expats and deporting them? I haven't heard of that.

The ultimate loser in all of this are small businesses. In fact, a lot of the more draconian rules eg. banning the employment of foreigners are solely directed towards this sector.

As for the aversion to 'menial' jobs I can concur that a shift is already happening. As employment figures rise a lot of young Saudis are realising how desperate the situation is. Only five years ago you'd be hard pressed to find a saudi working in retail. There are now even petrol station attendants.

"emerging trend of Saudi men (mostly of the darker less socially included sectors) taking up employment in supermarkets and retail shops."
I certainly can't say that I have noticed they are any darker than others, at least in the eastern province.

The second part of the post cannot be chalked up to saudisation per se. The whole higher education system is in dire need of reform and it certainly wasn't all that good pre-saudisation.

"As employment figures rise "
That should be 'unemployment'

"As financial stability is not often the driving force"

I have to take issue with this statement. In fact this is more often than not the 'most important' driving force. This is why government and bureacracy jobs are highly sought after. A phrase I often hear is that 'the government can't go out of business'. Even with Saudisation in place, private businesses are struggling to attract Saudis without benefits and assurances that exceed what would be expected from a bureaucracy. In retail, business owners are finding it hard to keep a saudi on the job for more than a few months at a time (which is to be expected really but which they are not used to). There is also the issue of marriage; a lot of young Saudis will find it hard to be accepted without a 'financially stable' job.

Nevertheless, as I said more and more Saudis (and employers) are being opened up to the realities of the current job market and it's ineresting to see what will come out of it.

SP Do you think the daughters of the elite will make enough noise about declining standards that the government will be forced to stop its Saudisation in that field? Will any of them do serious postgraduate work themselves so as not to leave the field to cribbers?

There have already been incidents where students have complained so vociferously that there have been teachers re-instated and moves to slow down Saudisation but not abolish it entirely.Sometimes expat contracts are renwed on a short term basis, terminated at the end of the duration and then farcially renewed following student activism.

Some do serious post-graduate work but again are handicapped by the fact that most supervisors cannot be bothered properly to educate them as they know that the theses will pass anyway.

Ali K

Are you sure that saudisation legislation includes arresting expats and deporting them? I haven't heard of that.

It has been known to happen, especially when the company is in actual breach of the law by employing an expat in a Saudi position.

"emerging trend of Saudi men (mostly of the darker less socially included sectors) taking up employment in supermarkets and retail shops."
I certainly can't say that I have noticed they are any darker than others, at least in the eastern province.

Mea culpa, I am being Riyadh, Central/Western province centric. Still an interesting trend in those areas I do believe.

The second part of the post cannot be chalked up to saudisation per se. The whole higher education system is in dire need of reform and it certainly wasn't all that good pre-saudisation.

True, but Saudisation merely exacerbates further the situation where all the ills are then percipitated in a most crucial way. Expat university professors are notorious for being blase about post graduate supervision (and even failing students) but at least some of their in class instruction was more substantial.

This is why government and bureacracy jobs are highly sought after. A phrase I often hear is that 'the government can't go out of business'. Even with Saudisation in place, private businesses are struggling to attract Saudis without benefits and assurances that exceed what would be expected from a bureaucracy

I think that the prestige of a government of bureaucracy position is not to be downplayed, where financial stability takes a back seat to social distinction is amongst the classes that will not suffer greatly (i.e will not starve) if they are not in constant employment. Small businesses suffer in the sense that they are not established enough to have a ring to them when, for example, as you appositely point out, one is being recommended as a potential husband.

SP,

You took the words, "tough love" right out of my mouth. Cant believe it. I was thinking the same thing when I read this piece which was by the way great.

About those entry-level jobs: I was at a mall here in Dubai yesterday and saw a stall for the 'Emirates National Development Programme.' The huge poster at the back had this man on it. Which is all very well until you realize that this stall, presumably aimed at attracting the attention of young people, showcased a man who subtly but visibly displayed the trappings of an upper class life: a shiny metal pen in the pocket of his thob, sunglasses, a silver watch, a fancy mobile phone, and a coffee mug that might well be from Starbucks. Work, the ad implies, and you will be rich immediately too. Of course, here in the UAE, that is not untrue for local kids who work...

He looks more like a CEO than a newbie entry level employee. The level of detail and nuance is amusing though.

"Some do serious post-graduate work but again are handicapped by the fact that most supervisors cannot be bothered properly to educate them as they know that the theses will pass anyway."

Hmm. Sounds like neither the profs nor the students are terribly interested in maintaining a high standard. Why do theses have to "pass anyway"?

Are young Saudi women not allowed to go to college elsewhere, even in the Emirates? Or do they just not bother because their degrees are decorative anyway?

ya m,

in the end ... the key issue is "mentality", as in "work ethics".

legislation, of course, can be subversed (as evidenced during the last 10 years of non-local labor laws in the u.s. & europe). but putting in place a system of rules & regulations and then enforcing them (however incomplete and unfair) will slowly contribute to that change in mentality.

"force of habit" should not be underestimated.

the real problem lies in the abysmal education system, that does not prepare its graduates for the real world. that goes for vast parts of m.e.n.a. (with the exception of [in alphabetical order] israel/lebanon/turkey). saudi universities may have the latest gadgets, but its students are not taught about much of "the world out there", nor are they learning foreign languages to a level where they can actually use them. critical thinking is discouraged or even punished.

as long as the educational system is not radically redone (the current reforms simply won't do, there needs to be a shift in the very basic set-up) ... well, until then k.s.a. will have to import qualified professionals.

--raf*

Re the educational issue, I have a friend, a prof in a nearby country who used to (until this recent unpleasantness) have a job "consulting" on Khaliji theses via a Lebanese firm.

Which is to say, Emirs would pay to have him effectively write their Doctoral Theses.

Paid relatively well.

L: I knew a guy in Beirut who did the same thing, in addition to doing AUB students' homework for them.

Raf,
I don't doubt the importance of mentalities and work ethic, but surely these will not change unless and until there are incentives for them to change - like actually needing a meaningful degree to get a job.

Even in the US, when the Ivy League was the preserve of young men from elite families who didn't have to worry about either competition to get into those universities or the rat race after graduating, standards were much lower than they are today (cf. the Leader of the Free World and his Gentleman's Cs)

SP-

"young men from elite families who didn't have to worry about either competition to get into those universities or the rat race after graduating"

I don't think that's it. You must be thinking of the UAE. People often forget that the unemployment figure in Saudi is edging towards the 20s percent (not counting females). There is indeed a yearly rat race to get into only eight Saudi universties (undermined by a wasta system, but nevertheless). The government also restricts the number of students in courses that require a lot of money eg. medicine, prefering to import nurses and doctors from abroad. Professional jobs are even tougher to get once you graduate, partly down to the rotten education system and the wishywashy degrees that no employer will take.

There is now a curious phenomenon that only started a year ago in which the government advertises needed professions and offers to send applicants to study in the US. Apparently the cost to send all these thousands of students abroad is less than what is needed to reform the Saudi education system so that it will be able to produce well-trained graduates.

So no, the fault does not lie with the graduates/students themselves but with the education system. I also blame the 80s baby boom which produced all these young people without provision as to what to do with them once they grow up.

I remember going to school in the Mid West and having a few Saudi boys in my class. It was a speech class so if gave us an oppurtunity to know more than the average about other students. These guys were engineering students who were being sponsored by either a Saudi or American corp for thier education. They gave the impression that the competition to study in the U.S. was steep with many many more applicants than spaces.

What Saudi needs is more privitization and a bottom line. More investors who are not beholden by national or family ties but to efficiency and profit.

Bikhair-

What you describe is a practice that has been going on for a long time in saudi (and other gulf countries). To circumvent the education system, large companies will often select fresh highschool graduates to train them either in house or send them abroad. The selection rate for these programmes is indeed low (usually less than 5%) and getting lower every year with the increased number of graduates.

But now even the *government* (or more accurately the Ministry of Higher Education) started doing it. That ought to tell you everything you need to know about the state of saudi education right there.

Add that to an economic environment hostile to entrepreneurship and foreign investment with almost non-existent commercial and labour law and you get: saudi economy = fucked up.

To those talking about "essay consulting": This happens everywhere wealthy people of lesser intelligence (or language skills) want to get a degree, even in industrialized countries... I have friends who've been doing this stuff for a living in Canada. Sometimes it's for wealthy foreigners, sometimes it's for the locals. Although I must say, I haven't heard of doctoral theses being subcontracted this way.

Lesser intelligence? Not necessarily. Simply a corrupt system, and no real incentives (positive or negative) to actually put oneself through the pain, so to speak.

Some of really good character do, but that's internal to them.

I wouldn't pass judgement on intelligence necessarily, but on character, without hesitation.

SP Are young Saudi women not allowed to go to college elsewhere, even in the Emirates? Or do they just not bother because their degrees are decorative anyway?

They're allowed to study outside KSA but only with their husbands and in rarer cases, with their brothers.

Re points on intelligence/character, I find that it is rather unrealistic to expect an intelligent individual to exert effort in order to be awarded a degree they could have gained with minimal application. Judgements on character aside, I suppose when one strips it down it is the lazy option that should be removed before the choice to opt for it is heavy handedly criticised.