State oil giant Saudi Aramco said it has signed deals with several top companies at the National Information Technology Academy’s executive forum in Dhahran to help develop human capital in the kingdom's ICT sector and leverage the role of the academy.

The forum was hosted by Yousef Al Ulyan, Saudi Aramco’s VP of Information Technology and chairman of the academy.

In his opening speech, Al Ulyan said: "The academy aims at equipping Saudi males and females with the required ICT skills through advanced and accelerated training and certification programs to bridge the skills gap in the market and to develop ‘job-ready’ talent pool."

“This is in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and its strategic objectives to equip Saudi youth with the required skills for jobs of the future, create sustainable job opportunities, and increase female participation in the workforce.” he stated.  

In addition, Nabil Al Dabal, the general manager of Training and Development, participated in the forum’s panel discussion.

The forum was attended by executives from the academy, and delegates from the founding stakeholders, partnering companies and organizations.

Al Ulyan said that Saudis make no more than 40 per cent of the total ICT workforce, despite the steady supply of Saudi ICT graduates from vocational institutes and universities in Saudi Arabia and abroad, a fact that presents great opportunities for skilled and trained Saudis.

The MOUs were signed with Saudi Telecom Company, Al Abdulkarim Holding, Cisco Systems, Huawei, HPE, Wipro, and Baker Hughes, a GE Company.-TradeArabia News Service