The Ministry of Labor and Social Development held a workshop in Riyadh to hear suggestions from rental-car dealership owners in a step to coordinate efforts to nationalize the industry.

Deputy Minister for Private Programs Ibrahim Al-Shafi and partners and investors in the car rental activities attended the workshop.

The workshop discussed methods to help young Saudis and college students obtain part-time jobs in the rental-car industry.

Participants discussed the challenges facing the nationalization of the car-rental offices as a viable sector that provides job security and a suitable income. They discussed that the expat labor working in this field is a direct violation of the Article 39 of the labor law.

Al-Shafi discussed the potentials support offered by the labor and social development system, including the training programs funded by the human resources fund of Hadaf.

The deputy minister stressed during the meeting the need to write unified contracts for all national forces that are willing to join the car rental sector in a manner that protects the rights of all parties.

Fawwaz Al-Sahli, deputy chairman of the road transport sector noted the importance of the partnership in regulating and developing the work of car-rental dealerships through different paths including renewing and amending the regulations and laws in order to support the national forces in the car-rental offices.

Nationalising the car-rental sector is a part of the Saudization and social development program that has achieved some goals in other areas, including enlisting 16,000 Saudis in the mobile selling and fixing program, which aims to be 100 percent nationalized.

About 2,200 Saudis have signed contracts to work in the tourism industry, which is expected to attract 33,000 more Saudis by the end of 2018. About 7,500 Saudis have jobs in the health industry, which is expected to absorb 93,000 Saudis until the end of 2020.