Recruitment portals try to ease logjam in Saudi labour market

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• Hiring process offers opportunity
• Jobs can get thousands of applicants
• Market ‘relatively underdeveloped’

Saudi Arabia presents a golden opportunity for recruitment platforms that seek to match multitudes of job seekers with a plethora of employers looking to hire, labour market specialists say.  

There are around 168 Public Investment Fund companies working on the $1.25 trillion Vision 2030 economic diversification programme, as well as foreign companies setting up offices in the country to ensure they have access to a slice of the pie. 

But many face difficulties in hiring, with so many young Saudis coming onto the job market.

Saudis make up around 60 percent of the kingdom’s population of 32 million people, according to the 2022 census, and around two thirds are aged under 30.

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New companies such as PIF-owned Riyadh Air have been flooded with thousands of Saudi resumes for jobs, and foreign companies are often at a loss about how to manage employment regulations, including Saudisation quotas requiring recruitment of Saudi nationals.

“Despite the advances in various app sectors such as ecommerce, fintech and healthcare, Saudi Arabia remains a relatively underdeveloped market for employment platforms,” says Norah Alzahrani, business development manager at TASC Outsourcing, which advises companies on hiring issues. 

“Traditional agencies still play a valuable role, but companies are increasingly exploring alternative platforms like LinkedIn, Bayt.com and our own Applicant Tracking System,” she says, pointing to the 90 percent mobile penetration in the country. 

The Saudi ministry of human resources runs its own jobs platform called Jadarat.com. 

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But startups are increasingly investigating the possibilities of augmented reality and artificial intelligence technology in the recruitment market, which they hope will reduce the number of foreign companies wading blindly into Saudi Arabia. 

“I’m shocked at how many companies hadn’t visited Saudi Arabia but ended up here. It’s a unique environment,” says Sahiqa Bennett, a British technology entrepreneur, who is launching her own recruitment portal, Aiyah.AI. 

Based in Riyadh’s Technology Park, Bennett’s project aims to merge elements of LinkedIn and US startup accelerator Y Combinator, bringing companies and potential hires together in virtual chat-rooms. 

“Now you might have 35 people flying into Saudi Arabia to hire talent but maybe instead of 35 you can send five or 10 to speak to only some, and they could also visit virtually to cut out the time-wasting,” she says. 

Saudi Arabia is struggling to attract foreign direct investment, which is languishing far below a targeted $100 billion a year by 2030. 

The government has taken a number of measures to encourage investors, such as a new commercial code to simplify the legal system and amendments to investment laws this month. 

Despite the teething problems, the kingdom has succeeded in becoming the region’s centre for venture capital. Funding for small companies from banks, financial institutions and venture capitalists rose sharply in 2023, bucking regional and global trends. 

Labour market specialists say that although LinkedIn is still an important resource for employers, AI is already heavily in use on sites such as Dubai-based Talentera, and US sites Phenom and Korn Ferry. 

“LinkedIn still stands out as the number one resource platform,” says Yvonne Biesinger of Creation Business Consultants, which has offices in Riyadh and Dubai. 

“But as the industry becomes more sophisticated, we believe AI will play a major role in making the screening process easier and faster.”