Saudi Arabia's Saudization Policy: DOLE lists prospective jobs for Saudization

After Saudi Arabia Bans Filipino Maids, the kingdom is now said to be intensifying its Saudization national policy that encourage employment of Saudi nationals in the private sector which was largely dominated by expatriate workers that include Filipinos. This is an alarming news as Filipinos make up the fourth-largest group of foreigners in Saudi Arabia and are the second-largest source of remittances to the Philippines. I have friends and relatives who are currently working in Saudi Arabia who are worried because their contracts are near expiration but have not been renewed yet.

Meanwhile, the Philippine's Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has listed 30 prospective jobs for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who may be affected by Saudi Arabia's intensified Saudization labor policy.


A news release posted on the DOLE website said the prospective jobs were classified into the unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled categories:

• Unskilled workers (9): laborer, domestic helpers, messenger, construction laborer, janitor/janitress, kitchen crew, housemaid, maintenance crew, domestic cleaner;
• Low skilled (11): field interviewer, food server/attendants, salesman/saleslady, security guards, waiter/waitress, merchandiser, sales clerk, service crew, cook (general), housekeeping attendant, baby sitter;
• Semi-skilled (10): accounting staff, accounting clerk, administrative assistants, call center agents, data encoder, cashier, customer service assistant, storekeeper, receptionist, office clerk.