Job Discussion Forums

[hash]

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Job seekers looking for ESL teaching jobs in KSA should be aware that there's a serious and significant push now to hire KSA nationals for just about any position, including English teachers.

In a way, this has always been true, but just now browsing a KFUPM employment website was an eye opener.

In the past, EFL positions have always insisted on native speakers, Anglophone universities and the like.

Not anymore. Have a look-see:

https://jobs.kfupm.edu.sa/postings/search

Almost every job listed includes, in parenthesis, the phrase: (Saudi Nationals Only). This is true even for the several English language posts advertised.....and none of these job openings mention native speaker, Anglophone university and so on as requirements.

This is likely one reason many applicants are experiencing massive delays and disruptions in the hiring process....KSA employers are doing everything they can to hire locally. And if it's happening at KFUPM, it's likely happening Kingdom-wide at all levels.

Maybe not this year or next, but it's going to happen - hiring non-Saudi native English speakers will slow down to a trickle. Teachers in the profession for keeps are simply going to have to come to terms with the "new world order".

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[danshengou]

These are the job ads for Saudis. Keep scrolling to find the others.

[bigdurian]

I would agree with this to a point. But I think it will be more likely that more Saudis will be working with less westerners, rather than exclusively Saudis working.

Purely based on my own observations over the years and nothing else, I would say that there are far more Saudi women teaching than there are Saudi men, due to the lack of job opportunities in other areas for women. Also there is the way that teaching as a profession is generally looked down upon as a career for men.

Also, you have to factor in salaries. A Saudi teacher isn't going to get as much as a Westerner. If you look at some of the lower paying jobs, say 10,000 a month, a Saudi may only get 7-8. A Saudi cashier at Lulu wouldn't be getting much less than this. Where I am now there are ghost Saudis earning 8k a month. Why teach when you can ghost?

At my own place, which is a large military set up, there are more Saudi civilians being employed, and they earn good money, but it's hard to find good guys. I'm not sure about the ins and outs of the contract, but I would guess that coming from an American company there is some sort of requirement that some of the positions be filled by westerners. I may be wrong.

I see more jobs taken by Saudis, especially on the women's side, in the future, but I don't think westerners are totally redundant just yet.

Maybe in the current economic climate westerners are a bit of a luxury.

[scot47]

The shift to Saudi nationals was palpable in my time there. It was also clear to many of us that there are lots of Saudis who can do the teaching. I met many who had very high levels of spoken and written $English. In some cases this was without ever visiting or living in the Anglosphere.

[Leno]

HI All
BigDurian
would you mind shedding light on the meaning of " ghost saudis" who earn 8K ?

Any possibilities that " foreigners can be there ghosting for 8K or more?

[danshengou]

[scot47]

"Ghosting" came about when the Govt of KSA gave companies quotas of Saudi nationals to employ. Some profitable companies accepted the rule but simply took Saudis on the payroll as "ghosts" to fill the quota. No one cared much if these Saudi nationals showed up or stayed at home.