A major step in the Saudization of employment is reflected by the inauguration of the Saudi-Japanese Automobile Institute, SJAHI, which will produce 200 Saudi automobile engineers annually.
Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, will patronise the inauguration ceremony in Jiddah on Wednesday, resident representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, Siichi Miyoshi told Riyadh Daily.
Miyoshi said that the two countries agreed on the idea of establishing such an institute to train Saudi automobile engineers during the visit of the Crown Prince to Japan in 1998. The opening event of the project, which is organised by the JICA and the General Organization For Technical Education and Vocational Training, GOTEVOT, will be attended by prominent Saudi and Japanese officials, local businessmen involved in the automobile industry, and Japanese car manufacturers. Miyoshi noted that the first group of Saudis begun their training program at the institute in September last year. It will be a three-year course, covering all aspects of automobile maintenance, he added.
SJAHI is the first institute of its kind to be opened in the Kingdom with Japanese cooperation. In addition to cooperating with JICA and GOTEVOT on the project, Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association, JAMA, in Japan and Japanese Automobile Distributors Association in the Kingdom, JADIK, will participate in the program. Within the framework of this cooperation, the two countries will promote further joint projects and work to develop Saudi human resources in the field of automotive service engineering to fulfil the needs of the Saudi market.
The Saudi government allocated the necessary land for establishment of the project, while JAMA and JADIK bore the cost of construction of the SHAHI headquarters in Jiddah. In addition to the supply of Japanese experts, JICA has offered training for the institute’s Saudi staff and also provides technical guidance, education facilities and equipment for the project.
Source: SPA
