Her Highness Princess Haifa Mohammed Al Saud, Vice Minister of Tourism, has launched the Kingdom’s largest programmatic and institutional accreditation initiative. This initiative aims to elevate the quality of tourism education and training, enhance the effectiveness of educational outcomes in the tourism sector, and strengthen their alignment with the labor market.
Her Highness highlighted that from the beginning, the Ministry has been committed to improving educational and training programs and aligning their outcomes with the demands of both the current and future labor markets. She emphasized that the launch of this significant initiative represents a crucial advancement in achieving the success of these efforts.
Her Highness also outlined that this initiative, the largest of its kind globally, will involve evaluating the quality of 102 national tourism education and training programs throughout 2024. This evaluation will be carried out in collaboration with three organizations: UN Tourism, the Education and Training Evaluation Commission, and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation. The aim of the initiative is to help tourism education and training institutions supported by the Ministry of Tourism achieve both international and local accreditations and professional certifications.
The initiative is designed to achieve several short- and long-term goals. By 2024, it aims to secure national and international accreditation for 31 tourism education and training programs and institutions, certify 200 trainers and educational and administrative staff to deliver new tourism programs developed by the Ministry in partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and provide professional certification for 37 Ministry of Tourism employees to manage tourism programs. Furthermore, by 2025, the initiative targets securing both international and local accreditations for 27 additional tourism education and training programs and institutions.
HH concluded with the statement, “We are collaborating closely with our local and international partners to fulfill the objectives of this promising initiative. This effort will elevate the competitiveness of the tourism labor market, enhance the Kingdom's status as a premier global tourism destination, develop the skills of industry workers, and present them with exceptional job opportunities”.
It is important to highlight that last June, under the 'Ahluha' initiative, the Ministry of Tourism initiated the Tourism National Occupational Skills Standards in the tourism sector in both Arabic and English. This marks the first national effort to establish specialized professional standards aimed at enhancing the quality of tourism education and training outcomes and bridging the gap between supply and demand.
