Determination of Major Challenges confronted by the Engineer and the Engineering Sectors

1. Determination of Major Challenges confronted by the Engineer and the Engineering Sectors Presented in First Saudi Engineering Forum "Engineering Education in 2020 and Industry Requirements" King Fahd University for Petroleum & Minerals Prepared byEngr. Saleh Bin Abdul Rahman Elamr Saudi Council of Engineers 25-26 Rabi II 1427 23-24 May 2006

2. Contents • preamble • Number of engineers and the international averages • No. of engineers in public sector and some major private firms • Engineers' specializations and nationalities • The size of demands • Dimensions of engineering qualifications and training • Qualification and training environment at local sectors • Levels of qualification • Recommendations

3. No. of engineers per 100,000 inhabitants 6000 5300 5000 3800 4000 2800 3000 1135 1000 2000 821 460 385 1000 80 0 UK Germany Egypt UAE Jordan Kuwait KSA Bahrain Morocco

4. Engineers in private and public sectors in KSA Public Private Saudi Non-Saudi Total Total 0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000

5. No. of engineers in some major firms (private sector) Saudi Aramco Saudi Sabic Non-Saudi Total Electricity 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

6. Increment in number of engineers in past five years in KSA 49332 16573 14540 7700 6983 3536 TOTAL 1425 1424 1423 1422 1421

7. No. of engineers working in private sector, nationality wise (2004) Indian 20000 Egyptian Philippine 18000 Saudi 16000 Pakistani 14000 Syrian 12000 Jordanian 10000 Sudanese 8000 Lebanese 6000 Bangladeshi 4000 Palestinian 2000 British 0 American Others

8. Distribution of engineers working in private sector, as per the specializations 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Civil Other Electronics Computer Chemical Electrical Mechanical Architectural

9. Engineers in the Kingdom: Demand Size • At present, 460 engineers per 100.000 inhabitants, out of them are only 120 Saudis. • If Jordanian Average of 1000 per 100.000 is considered, then KSA needs 220,000 based on last census. • The number of Saudi engineers at present is 26,000 thus 194,000 engineers are to be graduated to meet the current demand. • Average of new engineering graduates from Saudi Universities in 1422-1433 is 1675 engineers. • If the recent annual population growth of 3% is taken into account, then the universities must produce 3300 engineers just to meet the annual population growth.

10. 100 90 80 70 60 Disagree 50 40 neutral 30 agree 20 10 0 6 5 4 3 2 1 Perspectives of engineers on qualifications and training • Qualification will help in developing engineer's professional skills • Implementation of a national systematic method for professional qualification for engineers is must • Professional qualification will intensify positive competitiveness among engineers • Qualification will help in building qualified cadre of engineers • During the implementation of the qualification method, the extensive experience of the engineers to be considered as the transition phase.

11. Perspectives of engineers on the importance of professional qualification 100 90 80 70 60 yes 50 no 40 30 20 10 0 4 3 2 1 • Is there any systematic professional training for engineers for your employer? • Did you attend any training course in your specialization during last five years? • Is your promotion connected with training courses and is training a condition for that? • Do you possess a professional degree?

12. Perspectives of supervisors on the importance of professional qualification 100 80 60 yes no 40 20 0 3 2 1 • Is there any systematic training program for your organization? • Is the promotion of engineers is contingent on training courses and is the training a condition for promotion?

13. Local Experiences in Qualification • Ministry of Civil Services • Saudi Aramco • Civil Aviation • Saudi Electric Company • Sabic • Saudi Telecom

14. Qualification Levels ENGINEER In this grade an engineer is not required to practice any specific responsibilities and will not be entitled for any specific privileges, where he will focus on training and qualification and providing technical support to his work team ASSOCIATE ENGINEER Sign reports and designs along with a professional engineer Provide engineering services through corporate bodies Execute engineering duties under supervision and authorization of a professional engineer

15. Qualification Levels PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER • supervision, development, projects management, maintenance, factory management, operation) • Sign reports and designs related directly or indirectly  with public service • Train engineers and associate engineers • Engineering arbitration and dispute settlement services to related parties • Sign engineering services contract as the second party. CONSULTANT ENGINEER • All responsibilities of Professional Engineer • Engineering consultancy services • Authentication of professional consultancies • Leading the work group in various engineering disciplines.

16. Recommendations • Implement the results of National Systematic Procedure for Professional Qualification for Engineers study that defined the qualification levels and outlined a mechanism for implementation; • Support studies for defining the engineering HR requirements in various sectors, based on the actual demands that assure the perfect performance of these sectors and promotion of its level, and shouldn't be based on conserving the finance; and • Give importance to revamp the engineering education plan to suite with the size of challenges that the HR in the Kingdom faces, especially in the engineering sectors.

17. Thank You