The Corona pandemic has produced two distinguishing signs: the first is that the pandemic has exacerbated the economic conditions in the country, and the other is that it has dug into the national economy wounds that have already deepened the previous wounds.
With armies of unemployed people in all sectors, and amid the suffering of young people with their specializations, and the difficulty of providing markets for them to fill their lives, especially since the unemployment rate between the age groups 20 and 24 has reached 45%, today we are in dire need of a huge strategic plan based on the advancement of the sector Vocational training.
The National Agenda (2006-2015) to the National Employment Strategy for Vocational and Technical Education and Training (2014-2020) made many recommendations to raise the efficiency of vocational training, but a high percentage of recommendations in this regard were not reflected on the ground, in addition to the various government policies weakening the institution Vocational training.
We need a comprehensive national plan with official and civil arms that transcends governments, which was confirmed by His Majesty the King when he called a few days ago for cooperation between the government and the private sector in the field of vocational training, and before that through discussion papers, specifically the seventh discussion paper, where His Majesty called for the development of the training sector Vocational and technical education.
It is only possible to achieve and build a national series of projects through skilled labor, and these hands must be trained, and from here comes the national and economic role of vocational training, and this important role has already begun through Al Hussein Technical University, which is affiliated with the Crown Prince Foundation.
The issue, of course, is not only related to the establishment of a specialized university despite its importance, or the establishment of projects in order to reduce unemployment, but rather we aspire to integrated educational and technical training programs and improve the stereotyped image of technical and vocational training, and the establishment of a unified national umbrella that organizes and leads vocational training, and enhances women’s participation in the process Technical and vocational education and training and its integration into the labor market.
The governmental role must be transformed from a provider of vocational training services to a supervisor, especially since the executive aspect falls on the shoulders of the private sector and the various productive sectors. The people of Makkah know more about its people, especially since the private sector is the beneficiary of the outputs.
The world started in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and without reorienting the curricula and establishing an independent national umbrella for the vocational and technical education and training sector that organizes and leads this process, the outputs of education will remain far from the requirements of the labor market and far from the industrial and technical progress and the digital economy that we are witnessing worldwide.
