Saudi Arabia to halt recruitment of less experienced foreign engineers

Starting January 1, 2018, the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) will no longer recruit expat engineers with professional experience of less than five years, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Wednesday, citing an SCE statement.

The authority is giving domestic engineering firms that are implementing urgent projects a period of three months to complete the procedures required for employing expat engineers, who applied for jobs ahead of that decision.

Expatriate engineers should have the required experience in the pertinent field and provide a documentary proof to this effect.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MLSD) and SCE have reached an agreement to stop recruitment of expatriate engineers with professional experience of less than five years.

The agreement aims to provide more jobs to Saudi engineers in the government and private sectors.

Earlier, it was mandatory for expat engineers to have three years of experience.