RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s education sector is undergoing a strategic transformation, shifting its focus to specialized fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics and nuclear energy.
Thanks to the Vision 2030 economic diversification plan, this represents a critical step in equipping the Kingdom’s future workforce with the highly sought-after skills needed to secure the jobs of tomorrow.
Mansoor Ahmed, executive director for the Middle East and North Africa region at Colliers, a Canadian professional and management services firm, says the shift to artificial intelligence and technology is creating new job opportunities and spurring higher education reforms.
“Graduates with skills in these areas will fill highly sought-after roles, helping reduce youth unemployment,” Ahmed told Arab News.
Saudi Arabia's national strategy for data and AI, launched in 2020, aims to attract $20 billion in investment by 2030 and train a workforce of 20,000 AI and data specialists.
Ahmed says the emergence of this highly skilled workforce in the tech sector will in turn help attract foreign investment, “positioning Saudi Arabia as a potential leader in innovation.”
AI could add more than $320 billion to the Middle East economy. A PWC analysis predicts that Saudi Arabia is expected to have the largest gains in absolute terms, worth $135.2 billion, and the United Arab Emirates will see the largest overall impact at 14 percent of its projected gross domestic product by 2030.
“The development of nuclear power plants and the integration of AI into various sectors will generate specialized roles in engineering, data analytics and machine learning,” Ahmed said. “This highlights the need to prioritize education in technology, AI, robotics and nuclear energy.”
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Saudi Arabia has confirmed its commitment to future technology by becoming a hub for 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 take a leading role in these specialized fields, it must first bridge the gap between market demand and educational output.
A report produced by Colliers found that the current distribution of enrollment at the Kingdom's public universities “is not aligned with the job market”, with students still favoring the humanities and Islamic studies.
Now things are changing. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has an AI initiative focused on research and graduate education, while KAUST Academy focuses on developing AI talent with programs aimed at external students.
“KAUST aims to fill this gap by offering specialized training and development programs in high-demand areas, helping students transition from traditional fields of study to more market-aligned disciplines,” Sultan Albarakati, director of KAUST Academy, told Arab News.
“We are focusing on educating a broad range of college students to prepare them for future job markets.”
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Saudi Arabia’s national data and AI strategy aims to attract $20 billion in investment by 2030.
The Kingdom aims to train a workforce of 20,000 artificial intelligence and data specialists by the end of the decade.
Artificial intelligence could add more than $320 billion to the Middle East economy, with Saudi Arabia alone earning $135.2 billion.
With the support of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, KAUST Academy’s AI program covers the entire field, from basic to advanced levels, with projects that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge.
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 KAUST faculty members. The grants, totaling $100,000, will fund projects focused on multilingual and multimodal machine learning, particularly large, generative language models.
KAUST Academy focuses on developing talent in AI with programs for external students. (Supplied)
Ahmed says the Kingdom’s investment in AI spans multiple sectors, integrating into healthcare, robotics, manufacturing and services, introducing new roles that require a combination of technical and analytical skills.
“This cross-sector application will significantly expand job opportunities for graduates,” he said.
Artificial intelligence is expected to transform the world of work in the coming years. About 23 percent of jobs are expected to change by 2027, with 69 million new jobs created and 83 million eliminated, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023.
To ensure that educational outcomes are aligned with labor market needs, the Saudi Arabia Human Capacity Development Program has decided to review higher education qualifications based on their recent and projected employability performance.
“Training in these highly sought-after skills will prepare Saudi citizens for success in a technology-driven economy, with the HCDP emphasizing critical thinking, problem solving, and technical proficiency,” Ahmed said.
