Saudi Arabia suffers shortage of engineers, says Al Hammadi

Saudi Arabia needs around 200,000 more engineers, and it currently has 30,000 candidates who need training and specialized courses, Okaz newspaper reported, citing Fahd Al Hammadi, head of the National Committee of Contractors.

“There is currently a shortage in the number of engineers, but we can have enough candidates after five years from now,” he said.

A number of expatriate professional engineers have left the Kingdom due to the Nitaqat program.

While the industry supports Saudization, young Saudi nationals are typically not willing to work in low-paid professions like carpentry in the construction sector, Al Hammadi added.