Education Minister Dr. Azzam Al-Dakhil and SAUDIA Director General Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser signed the deal during a function at Prince Sultan Aviation Academy in Jeddah.
The national flag carrier will provide the newly recruited trainees including secondary school graduates and bachelor’s and master’s degree holders with jobs such as assistant pilots and maintenance technicians.
As per the agreement, the ministry will allocate 1,000 scholarships for higher studies in commercial aviation and aircraft maintenance every year and send the selected students to the United States for higher education.
Addressing the signing ceremony at Prince Sultan Aviation Academy, Dr. Al-Dakhil said he was happy over signing this important agreement with SAUDIA, adding that it would create employment opportunities for thousands of young Saudi men and women in the national carrier.
The minister commended the airline’s exemplary program that brings together foreign scholarship, training and employment. “This reflects our joint efforts to educate and train highly qualified national cadre required by our country’s development process, which is one of the main objectives of the king’s foreign scholarship program,” he said.
Mr. Al-Dakhil highlighted the state of the art education and training facilities at Prince Sultan Aviation Academy, adding it would make every citizen proud. It instills optimism about a bright future for the country’s aviation industry.
“I am looking forward to the day when our scholarship students would return back to the country to take part in the nation-building endeavors,” the minister said.
On his part, Eng. Al-Jasser said the scholarship program coincides with SAUDIA’s 2020 strategic plan that aims to take the airline to greater heights, doubling its fleet and number of passengers during the next five years.
“This is a big plan for change and transformation that demands the presence of highly qualified national cadre, matching with the progress achieved by the airline and its affiliated companies and strategic units,” he said.
Eng. Al-Jasser emphasized the constructive cooperation between the Education Ministry and SAUDIA to train and employ Saudis in the aviation industry.
“This program aims at providing training and education to 3,000 students in aviation and 2,000 others in aircraft maintenance,” the DG said, adding that it would meet the organization’s future manpower requirements.
Eng. Al-Jasser said the foreign scholarship program would also help Saudis learn the latest developments in the aviation industry and aircraft maintenance.
“We would like to continue this positive cooperation between the Education Ministry and SAUDIA to boost the Kingdom’s development in all sectors under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Al-Dakhil and senior Education Ministry officials toured the advanced training facilities at Prince Sultan Aviation Academy including simulators, workshops, and classrooms. They expressed their amazement over the remarkable progress achieved by the academy in various fields.