The IT job market in Saudi Arabia, is growing at an annual rate of an estimated four percent, surpassing growth in any other job sector in the kingdom. This growth translates into opportunities offered by 7,200 to 8,800 new jobs created every year in the local IT market.
Saudi Arabia's information technology sector is one of the largest and fastest growing in the Middle East. The country has made major investments in recent years towards developing a modern IT and telecommunications infrastructure capable of supporting e-Commerce and the demands of a growing information conscious society within the kingdom.
"The surge in demand for IT jobs reaffirms the assertion that Saudi Arabia is one of the most productive markets in the Middle East region,” said Vice President of International Sales, Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Dirk de Waegeneire. “The focus on IT and the employment of key qualified personnel in this sector will necessitate the introduction and implementation of new products and solutions by large corporations as well as small and medium enterprises (SME). Fujitsu-Siemens Computers has selected Saudi Arabia as one of our key growth areas for 2003."
According to recent figures released by Madar Research, the size of the IT workforce employed in both public and private sectors is now estimated at between 180,000 and 220,000. This is approximately three percent of the total workforce, and is the second single largest IT community in the Arab World after Egypt. However, it is significantly lower than the 4.5 percent figure in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The distribution of IT jobs in Saudi Arabia is among international companies, local firms, oil and gas companies and government entities. According to Madar Research, programming and software engineering has the largest share of demand for IT professionals at 21.50 percent, followed by network design and administration with 19.16 percent and database development and administration with 16.82 percent. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
