GEC NEWS WIREOracle today launched Mostaqbali, an initiative to provide technical training to Saudi youth to equip them for the most in-demand technology-powered jobs of the future. Introduced and deployed in collaboration with Future Work and supervised by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the new program will train and certify 50,000 Saudi nationals in the latest cloud-powered digital technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT) by 2027.
Mostaqbali will be available to all Saudi nationals at different stages of their learning and professional careers—from students just entering the workforce to young working professionals—with a special focus on youth and women. The program will strengthen Saudi Arabia’s IT talent pool as organizations in the country look to increasingly hire local talent to deploy new technologies and drive digital innovation and growth in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
The Undersecretary of Ministry of HR and Social Development for Saudization, Majid Al-Dahwi said: “This initiative, which enables modern work processes such as freelancing, is a proactive step towards Saudizing the skills of the future. The goal is to enable young Saudis with next-generation skills and talents to close the skills gap, ultimately establishing a highly skilled and creative labor market to realize the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision. This move will also strengthen government and private sector initiatives to accelerate digital transformation by using national talent pools’ skills and insights.”
The Mostaqbali program will be delivered as a digital learning experience through Oracle MyLearn, Oracle’s comprehensive training and enablement platform from Oracle University used by thousands of technology trainees around the world. The program will offer rigorous foundational training in cloud technologies that will then channel students to professional-level training and certifications—including in areas such as DevOps, AI, applications business processes, and data science—as well as additional training curated individually based on learning levels and educational goals.
In addition to the opportunity to secure professional certification, learners will also be able to earn badges that indicate their job readiness for specialized job roles, helping potential employers more easily identify candidates and supporting job placement opportunities in the Kingdom.
“Under its National Transformation Program, Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase the contribution of its digital economy to national GDP to around 20% by 2025. The Kingdom is already leading the adoption of digital technologies and is expected to spend $34.5 billion in 2023 on ICT, as per IDC,” said Reham AlMusa, vice president – business applications and country leader – Saudi Arabia, Oracle. “These investments require availability of a workforce that is skilled and qualified in new technologies. As an initiative dedicated to empowering Saudi youth and investing in the country’s present and future workforce, ‘Mostaqbali’ aligns strongly with the Saudi Vision 2030. We believe it can make a significant contribution to helping meet the growing demand for technological skills in the Kingdom, including for our own customers and partners, while creating opportunities for everyone, regardless of background or experience.”
Oracle University provides access to some of the world’s leading technology experts and practitioners to support cloud technology training and certification all over the world. More than 20 million hours of Oracle University learning content have been viewed by learners globally, and the program has trained more than 3.1 million Oracle certified professionals in the global workforce.
Oracle continues to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia to support the strategic digital initiatives of public and private sector organizations in the country. Oracle has announced an investment of $1.5 billion in Saudi Arabia to boost cloud capacity. Under this investment, Oracle will open a third Oracle Cloud Region in Riyadh. This will join the existing Oracle Cloud Jeddah Region and the planned Oracle Cloud Region in the futuristic city of NEOM.
Combined, Oracle will offer five cloud regions in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with three already live in Jeddah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, making this one of the fastest expansions by any major cloud provider in the region.
