Employment Program for the Graduate Students in Saudi Arabia - Coursework Example

Employment program for the graduate AFFILIATION: Executive Summary Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) is one of the efficiently working agencies of Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia which has been ensuring that the country is able to fulfill the employment needs of the nation effectively. King Abdullah’s Scholarship Program is the project of SACM which has been designed keeping in mind the graduate requirements of the country. Under this program, Saudi students are sent to foreign universities to acquire the international level professional degrees. Since there is discrepancy in the number of graduates and jobs available for them, SACM needs additional amount of grant. It has been proposed that the development of a new department and an effective website will resolve the problem. It will be ensured that the graduates acquire all mandatory skills required for carrying out their work professionally. SACM will be able to efficiently manage the information about the graduates and the jobs available for them. All of these initiatives will ensure that the unemployment rate is reduced and the economic performance of the country is enhanced by a significant amount. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction of Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) 4 Need for further grants for SACM 5 Methods of enhancing graduate students’ employment 6 Objectives of the new program 7 Evaluation plan 8 Budget 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction of Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) is a specialized body created by the Higher Education Commission of Saudi Arabia to ensure that it has a highly competent and skilled workforce in future. The main purpose of this body is to implement educational and training policies required for the country in accordance to the demands of the professional world. It assists the government in preparing a qualified pool of individuals who have the capability of achieving the goals of the nation for its successive progression and development (“Background educational system in Saudi Arabia”, 2013). This body strives to offer the Saudi nationals with the superior quality opportunities required in the education field by providing them both financial and academic support. Since the inception of King Abdullah Scholarship Program in 2005 by SACM, the number of Saudi graduate students acquiring higher education from foreign universities has increased drastically. Even the government is supportive of the initiatives undertaken by SACM so that the students are provided international exposure (“Welcome to SACM”, 2013). The key objectives of the educational policy of Saudi Arabia are to: 1. Set overall standards of the educational system throughout the country. 2. Ensure that religious, social and economic requirements of the nation are effectively accomplished. 3. Eradicate the illiteracy prevalent among Saudi adults. In 1975, the Ministry of Higher Education was founded for the implementation of the Kingdom’s policy required for higher education which will expand the sphere of the post-secondary education. Before its launch, it was monitored by the Ministry of Education; it was the efforts of this new Ministry that the SACM program was initiated and it has received huge appreciation throughout the country (“Background educational system in Saudi Arabia”, 2013). SACM is also an integral part of Saudi Arabian embassy located in Washington DC. It has to make direct reporting to the Ministry of Higher Education in Riyadh about the developments which take place on educational and student’s level. The monitoring of these levels is done to ensure that the crucial objectives are attained successfully. The key criterion which are given utmost attention by this body are needs of the students, financial problems encountered by them, number of students enrolled in international universities, academic performance of students and many more (“Welcome to SACM”, 2013). Need for further grants for SACM More than 130,000 Saudi students have graduated successfully under the King Abdullah’s Scholarship Program. This year it is celebrating the graduation of its sixth batch and it is a great time of honor for the entire nation to grant degrees to the national residents. The Saudi government is satisfied with the growing number of literate adults within the nation but there is still one problem prevalent i.e. insufficient jobs available (Kurtz, 2012). The main aim of this scholarship program is to ensure that both the public and private sectors have well-qualified and professional employees who can make effective contribution towards the country’s enhanced performance (Kurtz, 2012). According to Weinzelt (2012), as of 2011, more than 35,000 graduate students holding the Doctorate and Master’s degrees are unemployed. They have acquired the relevant education from well-known educational institutions in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and other foreign countries. SACM is facing the following main issues regarding the employment problems within the Saudi job market: 1. Lack of adequate framework for keeping records of the number of students graduating each year and jobs available for their employment. 2. Absence of a department for ensuring that graduates returning to Saudi Arabia are given employment within the adequate time period. 3. Improper team of counselors for providing assistance to the scholarship students about their careers. 4. Incompetent and semi-skilled graduates who lack proper understanding about their employment needs and ways of carrying out work. 5. Inadequate training given to the foreign students for polishing their skills and preparing them for the professional world. 6. Lack of adequate funds for developing a new department within SACM for curtailing the increasing rate of unemployment within the country. Therefore, the main purpose of this proposal is to seek additional grant from SACM so that it can ensure effective implementation of the King Abdullah’s Scholarship program. The funds will be employed for carrying out market research in the job market to gather information about the opportunities which will be available for the graduates after the completion of their education. SACM will ensure that collaborations are developed with leading companies in the public and private sectors for the placement of the graduates. Similarly, the grant amount will be utilized for polishing the skills of graduates as they lack the required level of competence for building CVs and conduct their self-assessment test. With the help of self-evaluation, it will be easier to identify the compatible positions available in the labor market and acquire the relevant education for the attainment of desired job. Hence, the grant amount is required by SACM for effective development of the workforce for the enhanced performance of the country. Methods of enhancing graduate students’ employment Since the graduates are unable to find sufficient number of jobs within the job market, the following infinitives are planned by SACM which demonstrates the plan in which the grant amount will be utilized: 1. A new department within SACM by the name of ‘Graduate Development’ will be started so that it will be given the complete responsibility of managing the details about the students and their progress in academic and professional field. 2. The new department will employ ten more people for its management so that the division has required personnel for performing the desired tasks. 3. Each employee will be given specific set of responsibilities so that they can make valuable addition for SACM. 4. Graduate Development will even hire two counselors from USA who will ensure that the graduates are placed in appropriate educational institutions and they acquire the relevant set of skills required within the respective field. 5. SACM will organize two seminars each month for the prospective graduates to create awareness about King Abdullah’s Scholarship Program and disseminate information about a wide range of careers available in the market. 6. Similarly, training sessions for a months time period will be arranged in the months of July and December when the students of scholarship program will be asked to come back to the country and enhance their competency level. These sessions will ensure that the weak areas of the students are effectively covered and they learn the art of acquiring the knowledge in a highly proficient manner. Objectives of the new program The objectives of Graduate Development department and new program are as follows: 1. To ensure that the department is added in SACM by the end of June 2013 with the required number of employees. 2. To launch the website specifically for the graduates by the end of July 2013 so that a proper database can be maintained and the students can be provided sufficient guidance about the employment opportunities. 3. To create alliance with the well-known companies in public and private sectors for providing employment opportunities to the program’s graduates. 4. To arrange training session for the graduates to help them learn the employment skills from building CVs to giving proper interviews. It will ensure that the graduates are able to get jobs in the Kingdom. 5. To ensure that the students come back to the country and help it in developing the business sector for making successive progression on international level. Evaluation plan Since every plan has to be effectively monitored, the success of this latest Saudi Arabian graduate’s scholarship program will be evaluated by undertaking the following two initiatives: 1. Feedback from the students – The students will be asked to give their feedback on semi-annual basis to the Graduate Development department. It will provide insight into the effectiveness of the program along with the developmental initiatives undertaken by the students. It will even provide an opportunity to make modifications in their policies and procedures and enhance them to meet the requirements of the students. It will assist in keeping track of the number of graduates who have successfully obtained jobs within the Kingdom. 2. Performance reports from the companies – The employers of the graduates will be asked to share the performance assessment of the scholarship program’s students. It will help the SACM in keeping records of the effectiveness of the initiatives undertaken by it for enhancing the job market of the country. As a result, the graduates will be willing to make meaningful contribution within the business sector of the nation to improvise its performance. Budget In order to successfully implement the methods required for enhancing the employment opportunities within and outside the country for Saudi graduates, SACM will need additional US$ 1 million. The government has agreed to provide US$ 700,000 and remaining US$ 300,000 will be obtained from the bank in the form of a loan. The interest rate charged will be 12% per annum which is within the accepted range of the Ministry. The break-up of the expenses is represented in the following table: Expense Title Amount (US$) New staff recruitment 100,000 Training of new personnel (10 x US$ 5000) 50,000 Salaries of employees 200,000 Website cost 110,000 Advertising cost 140,000 Seminar cost (24 x US$ 1000) 24,000 Utilities cost 76,000 Students’ training sessions 200,000 Counseling services 100,000 Total amount 1,000,000 Conclusion Hence, SACM has to develop a department ‘Graduate Development’ within its office along with a well-designed website for ensuring that the graduates are provided the right information about the employment opportunities. With the help of additional amount of grants and funds, the body will ensure that the resources are efficiently utilized and the country is able to move in an appropriate and right direction. By ensuring that there is adequate number of qualified personnel available within the country, the economic performance will flourish by leaps and bounds. The students who go for higher education deserve to be given appropriate and well positioned jobs so that they can demonstrate their abilities in the required manner. Not getting the required jobs is highly de-motivating for them and hence their skills and talent are not utilized to the maximum level. Therefore, the Ministry of Higher Education should look into this plan for developing an adequate and sufficient pool of graduates required in the Kingdom’s business environment. By additional amount of grant, there is a guarantee that the performance of the country is enhanced and it is able to compete effectively on a global level. The grant would allow the students as well as the nation to become a successful and prosperous nation in future as well. Even the unemployment rate will decline and literacy rate will increase by a significant amount. It is vital for the Ministry to allow its educational system to thrive successfully so that it can compete on a global level positively and effectively. References Background educational system in Saudi Arabia. (2013). Retrieved April 27, 2013 from http://www.sacm.org/Education.aspx Kurtz, S. (2012). Thanks to scholarship, Saudi students return to US in Droves. Retrieved April 27, 2013 from http://www.washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8544:thanks-to-scholarship-saudi-students-return-to-us-in-droves&catid=1492&Itemid=428 Weinzelt, E.J. (2012). King Abdullah Scholarship Program: The Saudi Arabian Educational Youth Stride. Retrieved April 27, 2013 from http://www.susris.com/2012/07/30/king-abdullah-scholarship-program-the-saudi-arabian-educational-youth-stride/ Welcome to SACM. (2013). Retrieved April 27, 2013 from http://www.sacm.org/default.aspx Read More