The results of the upgraded Nitaqat Program, which aims to stimulate private sector establishments to localize jobs and ensure the continuity of work for Saudis in the labor market, showed the results of the first and second phases. During the first year of its launch, the program achieved positive results, with the number of Saudis working in the private sector reaching more than 2.1 million Saudi men and women. By the end of 2022, the number of Saudis joining the labor market in that year will exceed 277 thousand, which is equivalent to 80% of the program's targets.

After the launch of its second phase, the program continued to achieve the Ministry's strategic goals, as approximately 35,000 Saudis joined the labor market during the first quarter of this year, bringing the number of Saudis working in the private sector to more than 2.23 million Saudis, as the program contributed with the rest of the Ministry's programs and initiatives in reducing the unemployment rate to historical levels of 8%.

In mid-2021, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced the launch of the upgraded Nitaqat program, and gave all private sector establishments sufficient time to respond to changes and improve their human resource plans to comply with the requirements of the program until its entry into force. It also supported private sector establishments, in conjunction with the launch of the first and second phases of the program, with a set of incentives and facilities for hiring Saudis, the most prominent of which is subsidizing wages in cooperation with the Human Resources Development Fund “Hadaf” and activating the immediate account for hiring Saudis in all establishments.

In its upgraded version, the program focuses on reducing the level of complexity by merging similar economic activities with similar Saudization rates into unified groups, in addition to drawing up a clear plan for the required Saudization rates from private sector establishments over the next three years, which would gradually apply the required rates from establishments and grant adequate time limit to achieve those percentages. The program has been developed and aligned with the needs and nature of the various sectors through a series of participatory workshops with the government agencies supervising these sectors and in integration with the private sector establishments through the existing national committees in the Federation of Saudi Chambers.