Rashid Hassan, Riyadh

More than 120 female students from King Saud University in Riyadh participated in the first edition of the “My Skills Create My Future” project, which finished on Thursday.

The project was a collaboration between the British Embassy, the British Council and the university, and aimed to help train the students for the job market through a four-day series of workshops on communication, public speaking and negotiation run by trainers from the UK.

The British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Simon Collis said the project supports the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to realize the full potential of the Kingdom’s younger generation. The UK is one of Saudi Arabia’s strategic partners for the delivery of Vision 2030.

“Empowerment of women and girls is a UK priority and over the last few years the Embassy project team has worked with many local organizations to deliver projects to support our common gender-equality goals,” he said.

“A country’s vision can only be realized through its people,” he continued. “The ‘My Skills Create My Future’ project supports Vision 2030’s goal of investing in training to realize the full potential of the next generation of professionals so they are better prepared to contribute to their country’s future and economy.”

KSU Rector Badran Al-Omar said the workshops were conducted “in line with Vision 2030 and the guidelines of the leadership: King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Ministry of Education to empower the women of our country.”

“These workshops were intended to help students develop skills required for today’s workplace,” he continued. “We hope this workshop was beneficial to our KSU female students and will help them with their future careers.

“KSU will continue to work toward developing female talents because they are the future of our Kingdom,” Al-Omar said.

Amanda Ingram, deputy director of the British Council in Saudi Arabia, said, “Investing in education and training is vital to support the transformation that the Kingdom is currently undergoing, particularly in equipping young graduates for the jobs of the future. This pilot project is very much focused on increasing women’s confidence, changing attitudes, and empowering and inspiring women to apply newly acquired skills and knowledge to succeed in the workplace and beyond.

“An inclusive society means increased opportunity for women and young people to play an active and positive role in their communities, and this project represents our vision and commitment on female empowerment,” she continued. “Through the project, we hope all students take away that you don’t just acquire and learn these lifelong skills but continue to hone, utilize and build on them in different aspects of your life.”

Speaking to Arab News, Alaa Shaikh, who is pursuing a master’s in biochemistry from KSU and participated in the training, said, “I am very thankful to the British embassy and the council for choosing to host this workshop at KSU. I thank the KSU rector and all who contributed to this project. Before attending this workshop, there was a hesitation in us, and we had professional weaknesses and needed to overcome them.

“Throughout this intensive workshop we learned how to overcome them for our professional growth and personal development by developing soft skills,” she said. “Trainers at the workshop really helped us to understand what exactly the needs of the market are, and we have realized that there is a chance of greater development to reach Vision 2030.”