Employment of young Saudi nationals is a top priority for the country and for companies at all levels.

Despite the slower economic growth due to the fall in the oil price, there is still competition between

employers for attracting, recruiting and retaining the best Saudi graduates.

This research study was conducted by GulfTalent, the Middle East’s leading online recruitment firm

for professionals, in collaboration with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).

It summarises the employment preferences of the Saudi graduates surveyed and which companies

they would most like to work for.

It is hoped that the survey findings will help employers evaluate and improve their approach to

recruiting Saudi graduates.

1© GulfTalent 2016. All rights reserved.

GulfTalent would like to thank the

students and administration of King Fahd

University of Petroleum and Minerals

(KFUPM) for their support and

enthusiastic participation in this research

initiative.

2

37%

63%

This research report is based on

GulfTalent’s survey of 224 recent graduates

and final-year students of King Fahd

Universtiy of Petroleum and Minerals

(KFUPM).

KFUPM is the leading engineering

university in Saudi Arabia, with a diverse

pool of students from different regions of

the Kingdom.

The survey was conducted during June-July

2016. Married

Graduates

Single

Graduates

By Marital Status

Survey Population by

Subject of Study

3

53%24%

19%

4%

RiyadhEastern Province

Western

Region

Other Regions

By Graduate’s Region

of Origin

11%

86%

3%

Engineering

BusinessNatural Sciences

4

Note: No pre-compiled list of employers was presented to survey participants and they were asked to name their preferred employers themselves without prompting.

For full details of ranking methodology, see note on methodology – page 17.

11 12 13 14 15

6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5

16 17 18 19 20

1. Aramco

2. SABIC

3. Schlumberger

4. Sadara

5. Baker Hughes

1. ABB

2. BAE Systems

3. NCMS

1. Capital Market Authority

2. PwC

3. SAMA

Finance

Technology

1. Huawei

Aviation

1. Saudi Airlines

Oil & Gas

5

1. P&G

2. Unilever

Consumer Goods

Engineering Conglomerates

1. GE

2. Siemens

Utilities

1. Saudi Electricity

1. STC

Telecom

1. Abdul Latif Jameel

Automotive

The top employers of choice remain fairly

consistent across the country.

In particular, Aramco completely dominates

the popularity rankings across the country,

irrespective of the graduates’ region of

origin.

6

1

2

3

4

5

Jeddah

Riyadh

Dammam

Aramco Aramco Aramco

Schlumberger SABIC SABIC

SABIC Schlumberger Schlumberger

Bechtel Saudi Electricity STC

GE GE ABB

17%

11%

72%

7

Government

Organisations

Saudi Private

Sector

Multinational

Companies

When explicitly asked which types of

organisations they would most like to work

for, an overwhelming 72% of graduates

preferred multinational companies,

compared with 17% who wanted to work

for government organisations.

However, even for graduates favouring

multinationals, Aramco and SABIC were

still the prime choice, despite being

government-owned . Many reported that

the pair ‘behave like multinationals’,

offering excellent training and international

opportunities.

Comparing this year’s results against

results of the same survey conducted by

GulfTalent over the past decade shows

consistent dominance of Aramco and

SABIC as the employers of choice for

Saudi graduates.

Subsequent ranks have changed

significantly, however, with banks and

consumer goods companies falling in

popularity while more engineering firms

have risen to the top.

Some graduates surveyed cited lack of job

security in banking as a key reason for

preferring other sectors over banking.

8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Aramco Aramco Aramco

SABIC SABIC SABIC

Saudi Electricity Schlumberger Schlumberger

STC GE GE

P&G P&G Saudi Electricity

Schlumberger Baker Hughes Sadara

Unilever Google STC

Cisco Chevron Saudi Airlines

Samba Halliburton P&G

Mobily SATORP ABB

The interest in government jobs is much

higher than in the last decade, but has fallen

slightly below its peak a few years ago.

Locally-owned private sector firms appear to

be the least desirable choice for graduates,

attracting only 11%, though this is much

higher than 5 years ago in the aftermath of

the financial crisis.

The interest in government jobs increased

during the past decade following multiple

generous pay increases in the public sector.

In recent years, this interest has fallen slightly

following the government’s drive to have

more Saudis employed in the private sector.

9

Multinational

Companies

Government

Organisations

Saudi Private

Sector

72%75%68%

11%6%19%

17%19%13%

201620112005

The survey asked graduates to indicate

the main reasons behind their choice of

employer.

Motivations appear to vary widely,

covering 10 different factors.

The dominant factors cited by the most

number of graduates are: good training,

challenging work and attractive salary.

10

What Graduates Look for in their Chosen Employers

21%

19%

16%

11%

9%

Interesting & Challenging Work

Good Training & Development

Good Company Brand & Reputation

Good Salary and Benefits

Clear Path of Progression

Chance to Live & Work Abroad

Flexible Hours / Work-Life Balance

Great Work Culture

Stability & Job Security

7%

6%

6%

4%

While overall attraction factors are

similar across employer types, their

relative contribution to the graduates’

career decisions vary between

multinationals and government entities.

Graduates choosing multinationals

place an even higher value on

challenging work, international

exposure and training, compared to the

average graduate population.

By contrast, those mentioning

government as their favored work

destination place a comparatively

higher value on the company’s brand,

job security and salary.

11

‘+10%’ indicates that 10% more of graduates choosing multinationals cite this factor as a key

attraction, compared with graduates who choose government organisations

Top attraction factors relative

to government

Top attraction factors relative

to multinationals

Government

OrganizationsMultinational

Companies

Challenging & Interesting

Work (+10%*)

Chance to Live &

Work Abroad (+5%)

Good Training &

Development (+2%)Good Salary &

Benefits (+3%)

Stability / Job Security

(+5%)

Good Company

Brand (+6%)

*

The survey found the graduates’

motivations to be strongly correlated with

their marital status.

Single graduates are much more likely to

choose a company that offers challenging

work, good training and a chance to live

and work abroad.

On the other hand, married graduates are

more likely to be attracted to companies

with good salaries, work-life balance and

a clear path of progression.

12

‘+6%’ indicates that 6% more of single graduates cite this factor as a key attraction, compared

with graduates who are married

Top attraction factors relative

to married graduates

Top attraction factors relative

to single graduates

Married

GraduatesSingle

Graduates

Interesting & Challenging

Work (+6%*)

Good Training &

Development (+3%)

Chance to Live &

Work Abroad (+2%)Clear Path of

Progression (+3%)

Flexible Hours / Good

Work-Life Balance (+3%)

Good Salary & Benefits

(+8%)

*

44%

34%15%

7%

Most graduates report a strong desire for

international exposure, with roughly half

indicating they would like to live and work

outside Saudi Arabia, at least for a few

years.

This has contributed to the popularity of

companies such as GE and P&G, which are

perceived to offer overseas opportunities.

The US is by far the most popular overseas

work destination for Saudi graduates,

followed by the UAE and Qatar.

Most Popular Destinations

USA

UAE

Qatar

31%

18%

8%

13

Work abroad for a

few years

Permanently relocate

Not interestedOnly travel abroad

on business trips

The survey explored what factors graduates

perceive to contribute the most to their

success in securing employment.

Perceptions appear to vary widely. Having

relevant work experience is viewed by many

graduates as the most important factor,

followed by relevant subject of education.

Having personal connections (‘Wasta’) is

viewed as a key factor by a significant

number of graduates.

14

18%

16%

14%

11%

11%

10%

10%

9%

1%

Relevant Work Experience

Relevant Subject of Education

Suitable Personality

Top University

Wasta / Personal Connections

Good Interview

Good English

High Grades

Student Activities

The average starting salary expectation of

graduates surveyed stands at 12,000 Saudi

Riyals per month. (range 8-18k)

Married graduates have a slightly lower

median salary expectation at 10,000 Riyals,

compared with 12,000 Riyals median

expectation of unmarried graduates.

The overall average salary expectation

shows a 50% increase over the period

2005-2016. This is roughly in line with the

increase in cost of living, which according

to inflation data from the IMF has risen by

55% over this period.

15

12,000 Riyals10,000 Riyals

8,000 Riyals

Nine out of ten graduates are seeking a job

after graduation, with less than one-tenth

planning further study. 4% of graduates aim

to start up on their own.

Among those who seek employment, the

level of success varies. Two in five single

graduates have already secured a job offer

by the time of graduation, compared to

around one in five married graduates.

The low employment rate of married

graduates may explain their lower salary

expectations. Some employers attributed

the greater flexibility of unmarried graduates

to relocate to different location as a factor

contributing to their high employability.

88%

8%4%

Seeking a Job

after graduation

Own Business

Full-time study

38%

23%

Single

Graduates

Married

Graduates

Have a job offer on graduation

16

Each participant was asked to name the top 3 employers they would most like to work for after graduation.

No pre-compiled list of employers was presented to survey participants and they were asked to name their

preferred employers themselves without prompting.

Subsidiaries that received mentions separately from their parent (e.g. Sadara which is a subsidiary of

Aramco) were listed separately.

When two different names of the same organization were mentioned, they were added together to determine

the overall votes of the organization (e.g. ‘STC’ and ‘STC Company’)

While best efforts have been made to provide an independent, representative picture, the survey results

ultimately reflect the opinion of those who participated and may not be representative of all graduates in Saudi

Arabia. In particular, as a pre-dominantly engineering university, KFUPM graduates are inevitably more likely to

be drawn to engineering firms than those in finance and marketing.

If you wish to share your comments or feedback on this report, feel free to write to research@gulftalent.com

17

• Bechtel

• Intecsa

• Fluor

• AEC

• GDC

Technology

• Cisco

• IBM

• Oracle

• Google

• Microsoft

18

Engineering Utilities

• Marafiq

Construction

• BP

• NOV

• SASREF

• SATORP

• Weatherford

• Halliburton

Oil & Gas

*These employers received mention by at least some respondents. However, there was insufficient data for them to be reliably ranked.

Mining

• Maaden

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