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The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced the issuance of two decisions to raise localization rates in a number of qualitative professions, within the framework of the ministry's efforts aimed at enhancing the participation of national talents in the labor market, and providing incentive and productive job opportunities for male and female citizens in various regions of the Kingdom.
The first decision stipulates raising the percentage of localization in engineering professions to 30% while raising the minimum wage to SAR 8000 in the private and non-profit sectors, in partnership with the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, as of 31/12/2025, for establishments employing (5) or more workers from engineering professions, according to the approved definitions and professional titles. The decision includes (46) engineering professions, the most prominent of which are: (architect, power generation engineer, industrial engineer, electronics engineer, vehicle engineer, marine engineer, health engineer, etc.), in addition to the professional accreditation from the Saudi Council of Engineers, provided that the implementation of the decision begins after (6) months from the date of issuance; to ensure the readiness of the targeted establishments and achieve compliance.
The second decision also stipulated to raise the localization rate to 70% in the procurement professions in the private sector as of 30/11/2025, on the establishments in which (3) workers or more of the professions covered according to the definitions and professional titles approved in the Saudi Standard Classification of Occupations, including 12 professions, the most prominent of which are: (Procurement Manager, Procurement Representative, Contracts Manager, Warehouse Secretary, Logistics Manager, Warehouse Manager, Tender Specialist, Procurement Specialist, E-Commerce Specialist, Market Research Specialist, Warehouse Specialist, and Supply Specialist for Private Brands), provided that the decision enters into force after (6) months from the date of issuance, in order to enable the targeted establishments to complete the implementation requirements and achieve the target percentage.
The Ministry confirmed that the two decisions are based on intensive studies of the needs of the labor market, and in line with the numbers of job seekers in the relevant disciplines, and with the future requirements of the procurement and engineering sectors, noting that the implementation of the two decisions will raise the quality of the work environment and increase the qualitative job opportunities for Saudi men and women, and enhance their participation in vital sectors, including the non-profit sector.
The Ministry explained that it has published the procedural guide for the two decisions on its website, which includes details of the targeted professions, mechanisms for calculating localization percentages, and the required compliance steps, calling on all covered establishments to adhere to the application in order to avoid legal penalties, and take advantage of the grace period specified for processing and meeting the requirements.
The Ministry indicated that private sector establishments will benefit from the package of incentives provided by the Human Resources and Social Development System, including support for recruitment, training and rehabilitation, employment, job stability, and priority access to localization support programs and the programs of the Human Resources Development Fund "Hadaf".
