RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's education sector is undergoing a strategic transformation as it shifts its focus to specialty areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and nuclear energy.
Driven by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification plan, this represents a critical step in equipping the Kingdom’s future workforce with the in-demand skills needed to secure the jobs of tomorrow.
Mansoor Ahmed, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa region at Colliers, a Canada-based professional services and management firm, says the move toward AI and technology is creating new job opportunities and driving reforms in higher education.
“Graduates with expertise in these fields will fill in-demand positions and help reduce youth unemployment,” Ahmed told Arab News.
Launched in 2020, Saudi Arabia's National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence aims to attract $20 billion in investments and build a workforce of 20,000 AI and data specialists by 2030.
Ahmed says the creation of this highly skilled technology workforce will in turn help attract foreign investment and “position Saudi Arabia as a potential leader in innovation.”
AI could bring more than $320 billion to the Middle East economy. According to an analysis by PWC, Saudi Arabia is expected to see the largest gains in absolute terms at $135.2 billion, while the United Arab Emirates will see the largest overall impact at 14 percent of its expected gross domestic product in 2030.
“The development of nuclear power plants and the integration of AI into various sectors will create specialized jobs in engineering, data analytics and machine learning,” Ahmed said. “This underscores the need to prioritize training in technology, AI, robotics and nuclear energy.”
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Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its commitment to future technologies by becoming a hub of global events and forums such as LEAP, the Global AI Summit and the International Exhibition and Conference for Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing.
However, if the Kingdom wants to play a leading role in these specialised areas, it must first close the gap between market demand and educational supply.
A report prepared by Colliers found that the current distribution of enrollment at the Kingdom's public universities is “not aligned with the labor market” and that students still prefer humanities and Islamic studies.
That is now changing. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has an artificial intelligence initiative with a focus on research and higher education, while KAUST Academy focuses on AI talent development with programs for external learners.
“KAUST aims to fill this gap by offering specialized training and development programs in areas where there is high demand, making it easier for students to transition from traditional fields of study to more market-oriented disciplines,” Sultan Albarakati, director of KAUST Academy, told Arab News.
“We focus on improving the qualifications of a broad range of undergraduate students to prepare them for the future job market.”
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Saudi Arabia's National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence aims to attract $20 billion in investments by 2030.
The kingdom aims to build a workforce of 20,000 AI and data specialists by the end of the decade.
AI could add over $320 billion in value to the Middle East economy, with Saudi Arabia alone gaining $135.2 billion.
The KAUST Academy AI program is supported by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority and covers the entire field from basic to advanced levels. Students can demonstrate their acquired knowledge through projects.
The program focuses on improving skills in key areas such as deep learning libraries, optimization, linear algebra, machine learning, computer vision, artificial intelligence applications, Python programming, and large-scale deep learning.
To support AI research in Saudi Arabia, Silicon Valley tech giant Google recently awarded five seed grants to faculty members at KAUST. The grants, totaling $100,000, will fund projects focused on multilingual, multimodal machine learning, particularly generative and large-scale language models.
KAUST Academy focuses on AI talent development with programs aimed at external learners. (Supplied)
Ahmed says the Kingdom's investments in AI span multiple sectors and are integrated into the healthcare, robotics, manufacturing and services industries, creating new roles that require a combination of technical and analytical skills.
“This cross-industry application will significantly expand graduates’ career opportunities,” he said.
AI is likely to change the world of work in the coming years. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023, around 23 percent of jobs are expected to change by 2027. 69 million new jobs will be created and 83 million will be lost.
To ensure alignment of educational outcomes with labor market needs, Saudi Arabia's Human Capability Development Program aims to screen higher education graduates against their recent and expected employability outcomes.
“Training in these high-demand skills will prepare Saudi citizens for success in a technology-driven economy, with the HCDP emphasizing critical thinking, problem-solving and technical expertise,” Ahmed said.
