Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invests in skills to boost vocational education provision

The City & Guilds Group has signed a significant, multi-year contract with Saudi Skills Standards to provide assessment, platforms and staff training in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It forms part of a major modernisation of the Kingdom’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training system.

City & Guilds, a global leader in skills education, will provide a comprehensive, technology-led solution to support the system overall and build self-efficiency in the Kingdom’s vocational education assessment and quality assurance.  

It forms part of the Kingdom’s long-standing commitment to developing a skilled workforce and improving the employment prospects of thousands of young Saudis. It aims to increase participation in vocational education from 10% to 40% - equivalent to 400,000 students by 2023. 

The training will be delivered through the Kingdom’s Colleges of Excellence, 10 of which were launched in 2013. A further 27 Colleges will be opened in September this year.

As part of the contract, City & Guilds will supply a number of different test items and products to improve the efficiency, quality and effectiveness of the vocational education system as a whole.

Speaking about the agreement, Mike Dawe, Director of International for the City & Guilds Group said:

‘Through this partnership, City & Guilds will be helping thousands of people develop skills that the employers in the Middle East need. The speed that Saudi Skills Standards is operating at is incredibly impressive. It’s encouraging to see so much commitment from the Saudi government to helping young Saudis develop their skills so they can contribute to the economy.’