Three recruitment firms in Saudi Arabia will supply workers for a year to construction and other companies in the kingdom, a report said.

The hiring out of workers on a short-term basis comes as a bid to fill the gap created in the labour market with the departure of thousands of expatriate construction workers since May, added the report in Arab News.

The hiring-out programme will commence at the end of the amnesty period from November 3, the report said.

Recruitment companies will also provide trained and qualified workers as needed, the report noted.

The programme will provide workers on short-term without having to transfer their sponsorships, Abdullah Radwan, chairman of the contractors committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), was quoted as saying in the report.