Bab Rizq Jameel, a job creation program under Community Jameel, has set a new record this year by helping generate 81,057* employment opportunities in Saudi Arabia in 2015. This represents a 10% year-on-year increase from 2014.  The initiative made its greatest strides in helping create opportunities for Saudi Arabian women, facilitating 59,088 roles, representing a full 70% of the total number of jobs.

Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, President of Community Jameel and Bab Rizq Jameel Chief Job Creation Officer, commented: “The strong performance of Bab Rizq Jameel is a testament to the success of public-private partnerships. We thank the government for its unwavering support, which is an imperative enabler for the successful delivery of our programs. We also extend our gratitude to the private sector companies that have collaborated with us to help create job opportunities for the country’s youth and enable them to contribute to the development of our nation’s economy.”

In 2015, the initiative covered a wide range of sectors, such as retail, manufacturing and telework, as well as job-training programs. The initiative also facilitated a variety of flexible roles for women, including part time, seasonal, and full time jobs across all regions of Saudi Arabia.

Abdul Rahman Bin Abdel Aziz Al Fehaid, Executive Director of Bab Rizq Jameel in Saudi Arabia said, “Since the inception of Bab Rizq Jameel, women have benefited from our programs at an increasing rate. That’s why in 2015 we launched a series of dedicated activities through Bab Rizq Jameel Female Recruitment Company to increase the number of opportunities for women and to further cement their role in the country’s workforce.”

Since the launch of the initiative in Saudi Arabia in 2003, Bab Rizq Jameel helped generate over 420,000 job opportunities in the country through a wide range of programs. Bab Rizq Jameel has seen positive results across Saudi Arabia, particularly in Mecca, which saw a remarkable jump of 20,613 jobs in 2015. The Eastern Province and Riyadh achieved record numbers of 18,984 and 18,148 jobs, respectively, while Bab Rizq Jameel facilitated 11,956 jobs in the Northern Region and 11,356 in the southern region.

Commenting on the success of the programs, Rola Basamad, Senior General Manager of Bab Rizq Jameel Female Recruitment Company, said: “The Bab Rizq Jameel Recruitment Fair in Riyadh was especially successful, which facilitated in the employment of more than 7,804 job seekers. The event was noticeably beneficial for women eager to enter the job market, as they claimed up to 77% of the jobs that were offered at the fair.”

Bab Rizq Jameel’s programs include the Direct Recruitment Program, which identifies available job opportunities in the private sector and matches qualified job seekers from the Bab Rizq Jameel database with these opportunities. This program achieved the highest number of job opportunities in 2015 by helping create 51,641 job opportunities.  The Productive Family Program, which focuses on supporting and financing the productive families’ projects, also saw remarkable success, helping generate 24,856 job opportunities for women.

The Training Resulting in Employment Program, which seeks to impart youth with in-demand technical skills while facilitating job opportunities in private sector companies secured approximately 1,745 roles for young men and women throughout Saudi Arabia. The Small Business Finance Program, one of Bab Rizq Jameel’s longest running programs, helped provide more than 1,996 job opportunities in projects that Bab Rizq Jameel has financed and continued to support. The Taxi Ownership and Truck Ownership Programs, also succeeded in helping to provide more than 819 job opportunities for youth.

Finally, the Working from Home Program, hosted at the Nafisa Shams Academy for Arts and Crafts, helped train and identify job opportunities for 2,061 women. In 2015, the Nafisa Shams Academy conducted a number of training courses, including a specialized program under the supervision of Faces Cosmetics, which trained 10 Saudi females in the field of cosmetics and customer service.

As part of Bab Rizq Jameel’s plans, the program will continue to cooperate with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labour and other organizations to introduce job opportunities that aim to empower local youth and reduce unemployment in the country.

* All numbers in this press release are under auditing and verification by Deloitte & Touche Bakr Abu al-Khair & Partners.

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