Saudi Arabia: Certain Private Sector Companies Must Offer Trainee Positions As Part of Employee Headcount

Update - March 25, 2026: Effective April 18, 2026, training Saudi nationals who are looking for employment will count toward the two percent requirement. Additionally, authorities have clarified that private sector companies with more than 5,000 employees need to only engage 100 trainees annually. Previously, it was unclear in procedural guidelines if such companies needed to train more than 100 trainees per year. 

January 24, 2024: As of January 1, 2024, private sector companies with 50 or more employees must now ensure that at least two percent of their full-time employee headcount is comprised of Saudi national university or college students working in a ‘trainee’ capacity. Affected companies must sign a ‘cooperative training’ contract with each trainee and disclose the training data through the Qiwa platform. The contract should detail the training program duration, including outlining each training stage, as well as the roles and skills to be developed during the training program. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, which administers the program, has released a comprehensive procedural guide that, among other things, includes a contract template for the hiring of trainees and provides guidance and assistance regarding program requirements (including specifying the types of trainees eligible to participate; identifying the skills to be trained; demarcating the training program stages; and providing completion certificates which are given at the end of the program). Non-compliance with program requirements may result in penalties in accordance with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development's recently issued labor penalty schedule. Through providing practical work experience to young Saudi nationals, this initiative seeks to increase the capacity and competitiveness of the country’s national workforce and labor market.