Enablement and creativity programmes

HRDF seeks to empower and enable diverse groups of Saudi nationals from women, to youth, and the unemployed.

The National Job-Seeker Support Programme (Hafiz)

This programme supports job seekers to find appropriate and sustainable jobs and provide them with the necessary skills and resources in order to join the labour market. It consists of the Hafiz Searching For Employment Programme and the Hafiz Difficulty Finding Employment Programme. Each programme targets a certain segment of job seekers according to certain eligibility requirements for receiving benefits. The National Job-Seeker Support Programme (Hafiz) consists of:

1. Hafiz Searching for employment programme

The Hafiz searching for employment programme provides a monthly financial assistance of up to SAR 2,000, targeting young job seekers between 20-35 years who fulfil the subsidy eligibility requirements. The total number of beneficiaries all over the kingdom has reached 272,933.

2. Hafiz Difficulty in finding employment programme

The Hafiz difficulty finding employment programme provides financial assistance reaching up to SAR 1,500 for the first four months, SAR 1,250 for the next four months, and SAR 1,000 for the last four months. It targets job-seekers who are over 35 years or those who completed the Hafiz Searching for Employment Programme without being able to find an appropriate job. The number of beneficiaries has reached 264,784 all over the Kingdom.

Qurrah Working women childcare programme

This programme aims to improve the childcare system to respond to the needs of high-quality centres at an affordable cost, improve the working environment inside childcare centres, and, as a result, improve the provision of job opportunities to female employees and job seekers in the Saudi labour market. Qurrah supports the increase in the percentage of Saudi women working in the private sector and encourages their stability at work by subsidising them to enroll their children in childcare centres during their working hours. The number of women beneficiaries this year has reached (703). In order to respond to the needs of the biggest segment of Saudi women working in the private sector, the support mechanism was amended as follows:

Subsidies continue to be provided for four years until the child is 6 years old

• In the first year the amount of subsidy is SAR 800
• In the second year the amount of subsidy is SAR 600
• In the third year the amount of subsidy is SAR 500
• In the fourth year the amount of subsidy is SAR 400

Wusool Transportation of working women programme

This programme aims to empower Saudi female workers and sustain their jobs by providing them with transport to and from their workplace. These transportation means are affordable, highly safe, available in most cities and districts and of high quality and reliability. Wusool supports the increased participation of women working in the private sector through improving and developing female transportation and contributing 80% of their transportation costs. The number of beneficiaries this year has reached (12,826), and in order to benefit the biggest segment of Saudi women working in the private sector, the support mechanism was amended as follows:

• Fixed coverage of 80% of transportation costs
• The monthly maximum value of coverage is SAR 800
• Duration: 12 months

9/10th programme

HRDF’s 9/10th programme is a pioneering initiative operating under the Ministry of Labour and Social Development. The programme is aimed at driving business growth and providing avenues to small and medium scale businesses to drive national economic growth. The programme acts as a bridge between the world of business, the market, a potential investors, and Saudi entrepreneurs. Through seven different services, the 9/10th programme fosters innovation and entrepreneurship. These innovative solutions and services are specifically designed to support and develop small and medium entrepreneurs through various stages of their development.

• Forsah It is an electronic platform that connects buyers to suppliers from all regions of the Kingdom. The number of beneficiaries of small and medium enterprises amounted to 4,970 enterprises, and the number of available opportunities exceeded 2,630 opportunities in 2018.
• Kanaf Emerging business accelerator It is an incubator for entrepreneurs during the early stages of their projects until their launch in the market, which helps the entrepreneurs to have a product or service ready to be submitted to investors and displayed in the market. 35 facilities were incubated in accelerator and 16 projects were handled in 2018.
• Tojjar Access to market It is an e-commerce platform that enables entrepreneurs to coordinate sales, payment, delivery, etc., without worrying about the technical structure needed to achieve this objective. It also allows productive families to sell their products in modern booths at the largest companies in KSA. 20 booths were constructed in 2018 to enable families to invest in them.
• Abwab My apps It is a range of useful services and applications for companies in all stages. These services and applications are carefully selected and arranged based on the visitor’s personality and according to their needs.
• Bahr Self-employment It is a portal that combines freelance professionals and employers and projects. The portal has a large number of skills allowing the largest number of professionals to benefit and work and includes many specialities (website development, mobile, translation, writing, design, sales, marketing, customer service, network management, data analysis, business, consultancies, engineering and planning). The number of beneficiaries exceeded 15,000 and the number of projects exceeds 5,000 during 2018.
• Atwar Entrepreneurs trip It is a platform that provides simplified steps and reliable sources for each phase of the project from idea to launch.
• Zad Access to information It provides small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs with data and information to help them to make important decisions for their business.

Subol Career education and development programme

Subol is an interactive, online, educational platform for vocational guidance for students, teachers, partners, job seekers, employers, and employees. It is hub for career guidance, professional, and educational material offering in-depth information through interactive and visual content. Its goal is to effectively assist its audience. Subol programme has also developed a set of tools to determine the occupational aptitudes and match them to the career goals. 30,308 online visitors in 2018.

Career counselling services

As a remedy to the lack of awareness of career paths, qualifications, and skills required of the Saudi job seekers, HRDF conducts career guidance programmes through its branches in the Kingdom. HRDF, in partnership with relevant authorities, provides career counselling and vocational guidance to individual job seekers as well as to groups. These programmes focus on career paths, qualifications and skills required for the labour market, preparation of CV, facing interviews, and assists job seekers to develop a plan for searching for employment. There was a total of 888 guidance lectures conducted by HRDF branches in KSA in 2018.