Employment-Linked Training & Saudi Workforce Development
Turn Saudi Recruitment into Job-Ready Workforce Capability
Don't stop at meeting your hiring targets. Build the Saudi capabilities your operations actually need.
The business challenge
Hiring Saudi talent into operational and technical roles often stops at preparation. The employee is new, the site has its own procedures, and the work cannot wait for a generic course. Hiring is not a way to raise a localization number without real work and real development.
How the model works
1
Workforce Needs Assessment
The roles, the site, and the skills the operation actually uses.
2
Saudi Employee Recruitment and Registration
The employing company hires the person and handles registration that the law requires, including GOSI where it applies.
3
Structured Training Pathway
A proposed pathway of about 6, 9, or 12 months, set by the specialization and any approved arrangement.
4
Competency Assessment and Workforce Readiness
Progress is checked against the job, not against a promised Saudization or IKTVA score.
Proposed durations
These are proposed training configurations, not universally approved HRDF program lengths. Duration follows the specialization, the assessment, and the delivery arrangement.
6
months
9
months
12
months
What an employer may gain
- Recruitment aligned to the operation
- Structured onboarding and technical development
- Competency progression that can be reviewed
- Preparation for entry-level and technical roles
- Support for genuine Saudi workforce development
- A possible, documented contribution to localization files the employer already keeps
- A later look at approved financial support, only if the rules are met
Hikma does not guarantee a Nitaqat change, an IKTVA score, or reimbursement.
Sectors and example skills
Oil & Gas
Permit-to-work awareness, shift handover, and entry-level plant support.
Petrochemicals
Process-safety awareness and basic unit support for new hires.
Manufacturing
Line support, quality checks, and maintenance handovers.
Construction
Site induction, basic supervision support, and safety awareness.
Engineering Services
Drawing reading, site coordination, and technical reporting.
Operations & Maintenance
Mechanical and electrical fundamentals for technician entry roles.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Warehouse handling, inventory checks, and shift briefing.
Hospitality
Guest service, outlet standards, and supervisor briefing.
Technical Administration
Work orders, records, and coordination between the office and the site.
Digital Operations
Business systems, data hygiene, and service-desk basics.
Pathways that can be explored
Subject to operational capacity, curriculum approval where required, and funding eligibility. Not every pathway is currently available or certified.
- Industrial Maintenance Technician
- Electrical Maintenance Fundamentals
- Mechanical Maintenance Fundamentals
- Industrial Safety & HSE Support
- Logistics & Warehouse Operations
- Manufacturing Operations
- Quality Control Support
- Business Administration & Office Operations
- Digital Business Operations
- IT Support Fundamentals
- Customer Service Operations
- Facilities Management Support
HRDF support, as the Fund publishes it
The employer hires, pays wages, and completes its own registrations. The training provider delivers the agreed training. HRDF decides eligibility and any reimbursement under its programs. Hikma is not HRDF, and has not published a Strategic Partnership Institute approval for this service.
According to the published Strategic Partnership Institutes information, support can include up to 75% of eligible training costs, capped at SAR 3,000 per employee per month for no more than 24 months; training-stage wage support of up to 75%, capped at SAR 1,000 per employee per month; and employment-stage wage support of 50%, capped at SAR 2,000 per employee per month for one year. All of it depends on approval and the rules in force.
Before training starts, it has to be clear who employs, who invoices, who submits the claim, and who bears costs that are not reimbursed. Wages, training fees, and administration may remain with the employer.
Practical questions
Are the employees on the company's headcount?
When this model is used, the employing company hires them. Hikma does not employ them and does not put them on Hikma's payroll.
Are they registered in GOSI?
Where GOSI registration is required, it is the employer's obligation. Hikma does not register employees in GOSI on the employer's behalf.
Can the employee attend training at the institute?
Only when the agreed delivery, and any approved program if funding is sought, allows a designated training facility. Otherwise the proposal states the place.
Are the training fees entirely free?
No. This is not free training and it is not fully funded. Any HRDF support is partial, capped, and conditional. Hikma does not guarantee reimbursement.
Does the company pay the salaries?
Yes. The employing company pays the wages. Any wage support, if later approved, does not remove that obligation.
Are all specializations supported by Hadaf?
No. Support applies only to an approved program, an approved provider, and an eligible employer and employee. The pathways here are topics for discussion, not an approved list.
Can we choose a 6, 9, or 12 month program?
Those lengths are proposed configurations. The actual length depends on the specialization, the assessment, and any approved program rules.
Do the employees count in Nitaqat?
Nitaqat is calculated from the employer's own registrations. Hikma does not calculate a band and does not promise an improvement.
Does the program contribute to IKTVA or local content?
It can support real Saudi workforce development. It does not guarantee an IKTVA score or a local-content percentage. Any contribution depends on the employer's own reporting.
Does Hikma hold approval for this program?
Hikma has not published an HRDF Strategic Partnership Institute approval for this service. Until provider approval, program approval, and the contract are confirmed in writing, this page is an eligibility advisory.
How do we start a company assessment?
Send the form. Hikma reviews the roles, headcount, city, and whether a funding conversation is appropriate. A proposal follows only if Hikma can deliver the training.
Which documents are required?
For the first assessment: the company name, the roles, the headcount, the city, and the recruitment owner. If a funding file becomes appropriate later, the Fund's own document list applies and will be named in the proposal.
Let's Build Your Saudi Workforce Development Plan
Hiring Saudi Talent? Let's Turn Your Plan into Practical Workforce Capability.
Hiring Saudi Talent? Let's Turn Your Plan into Practical Workforce Capability.
Discuss Your Workforce PlanCorporate training from Hikma Institute in Al Khobar, scoped to the requirement you describe.
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