Saudi Arabia: Educational pathways are being put in place by Golf Saudi to ensure the thousands of jobs that will be created in the coming years will be filled with Saudi national talent.

“Within the next 10 years there’s going to be thousands of jobs that need to be filled … and our goal is to make sure that they’re filled with Saudi national talent,” said Ed Edwards, Chief Operating Officer of Golf Saudi.

Speaking in the latest edition of the Asian Golf Industry Federation series of webinars, highlighting the work of AGIF member companies across the region, Edwards outlined the educational pathways and certifications that have been identified.

“We know which jobs are coming so it’s very much our responsibility to ensure that that educational pathway is created so that they can be filled with certified Saudi nationals,” added Edwards, citing a tie-up with the Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE).

“We’ve worked closely with the CMAE over the last year and a bit to create the bottom of the pyramid, to create that educational pathway that aligns and taps into their existing educational platform.

“We start very much as an introduction to golf. All of our Golf Saudi colleagues will be going through that programme, which gives an overview of what is golf, what’s the industry, the history, the clubs, the rules.

“That is a certified course now through CMAE that we will roll out free of charge throughout the country and it provides people with a certification, but equally important it provides people with a knowledge of what golf is and we’re creating this awareness.”

More advanced courses will be offered with a view to preparing Saudi nations for senior roles in club management.

It’s Golf Saudi’s intention to create similar pathways for agronomy, for green keepers and for PGA professionals. Discussions with the AGIF regarding its acclaimed Certificate in Greenkeeping programme are under way.

Edwards said: “It’s really our responsibility throughout that social agenda in our educational programme to create all these different pathways to fill the jobs that we know are coming in the future.

*To see the full interview with Ed Edwards, please click here.