ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed two different agreements for Pakistani workers’ recruitment and verification of their skills for employment in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the signing ceremony of the agreements took place in Jeddah during the visit of Shafqat Mahmood, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training to Saudi Arabia. Shafqat Mahmood and Dr Ahmad Jabbar Al Yamni from Saudi Arabia signed the agreements the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development of the kingdom.
The agreement on workers’ recruitment will contribute to streamlining the process of export of workforce from Pakistan in diverse professions in the kingdom and protect their rights with legal protection during employment in KSA. The agreement will also help in resolving contractual disputes and taking legal recourse against recruitment offices, companies or agencies for any violation in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the agreement pertaining to skills verification will enhance export of skilled and certified Pakistani workforce to the kingdom.
The FO said imparting modern skills and ensuring certification of Pakistani workforce to improve their employability abroad were key areas among Prime Minister Imran Khan’s priority sectors. “Certification for our skilled manpower will create opportunities for technical workforce in Pakistan to get internationally recognised trainings and certifications,” it added.
“This important cooperation between both countries has far-reaching impact for enhancing the employment opportunities for skilled Pakistani workforce by joint certification and testing by Takamol Saudi Arabia and National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) Pakistan,” said the statement.
“This step [agreements] will also safeguard the existing Pakistani work force in Saudi Arabia. It is expected that millions of Pakistani skilled workers will get gainful employment opportunities with higher earning as a result of the efforts of the government of Pakistan,” it added.
It said that under this partnership, NAVTTC and Takamol, a subsidiary of the government of Saudi Arabia, were establishing the testing regime under the Skills Verification Programme (SVP) by exchanging the NOS (National Occupational Standards) and facilitating skill verification of candidates through competency-based assessment (theory & practical) at exam centres in Pakistan for candidates desirous of working in Saudi Arabia.
This will enable Pakistani skill workforce to have authentic and internationally recognised joint certification by both Takamol and NAVTTC through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment.
Saudi ministry has introduced the SVP from July 2021 to regulate its labour market. After the implementation of the SVP, the skill verification has become necessary for the Pakistani workers who intend to get employment in Saudi Arabia.
