Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Sep 22, 2023

ETEC launches standardized tests for university graduates to enhance labor market readiness

ETEC launches standardized tests for university graduates to enhance labor market readiness

The Saudi Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) announced the launch of standardized tests for university graduates. The tests, which commenced on May 17 and will continue until June 6, are not linked to the success of students or their failure in majors, it was announced.
The exams, which will be applied for the first time in the history of university education in the Kingdom, is one of the outputs of the commission’s Jahiziya program to raise the readiness of the university graduates to take up jobs in the local employment market.

Jahiziya program, which target students in the final year of their bachelor’s degrees, aims to evaluate and support improvement of the performance of bachelor’s students as well as to help universities and government and private colleges know the quality of their outputs and opportunities for improvement, without affecting the success or failure of students.

The number of students targeted by these exams is approximately 17,000 male and female students, and the exams are being held in 200 centers belonging to 48 universities and colleges across Saudi Arabia. The standardized tests for this year include 13 university majors such as finance, accounting, marketing, finance and investment, risk and insurance, banking and financial markets, computer engineering, computer science, software engineering, information systems, information technology, cybersecurity/ information security, and artificial intelligence.

These standardized tests come in implementation of the decision of the Council of Universities Affairs, which includes popularizing the standardized test with the aim of evaluating the outputs of knowledge, skills and values of graduates in their respective specializations. This is through assessing the level of quality of standards by conducting tests on a sample number of university graduates every three years.

The commission launched the program to raise the readiness of graduates of higher education for the labour market (Jahiziya) to set a specialized framework that represents the minimum level of knowledge, skills and values for each specialized field, through cooperation between scientific teams from universities and specialized teams from representatives of the relevant government and private sector agencies, and then conduct standardized tests for graduates in light of the specialized framework. The ETEC has followed a specific methodology for formulating specialized standards, represented in surveying excellent international experiences, identifying national needs in the labour market, and consulting with employers and academic experts.

The Jahiziya program aims to measure the outputs of academic programs and contribute to improving them. It also targets enhancement of graduates’ acquisition of knowledge, skills and learning outcomes required for each specialized discipline, and raise their readiness to join the labor market, by enhancing the alignment between the outputs of academic programs and the requirements of the labor market. This contributes to reducing unemployment rates and achieving one of the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

The ETEC followed a specific methodology for building specialized standards, which consisted of looking at distinguished international experiences, identifying national needs in the labor market, and consulting employers and academic experts.

More than 40 entities from government and private sectors participated in the implementation of this program. The entities related to financial and accounting majors include Ministry of Finance, Saudi Central Bank, Capital Market Authority, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, Government Expenditure & Projects Efficiency Authority, Financial Skills Center at the Ministry of Finance, Saudi National Bank, SABIC, and the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants.

Information technology disciplines: The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), National Cybersecurity Authority, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), the Advanced Technology and Cybersecurity Company, and the Saudi Digital Academy

The ETEC works according to its mission and objectives, in cooperation and integration with government institutions to contribute to raising the quality and efficiency of education and training in a way that contributes to achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and the objectives of the Human Capacity Development Program.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
Close
0:00
0:00
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Engulfed in Flames Amidst a Firestorm of Protests
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Today, we're unveiling the splendor of one of Saudi Arabia's most exclusive and stunning retreats – the Jeddah Yacht Club
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Muslim Tycoon Asif Aziz Receives Approval for the Transformation of the iconic London Trocadero Landmark into Mosque
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Hospitalized Due to Dehydration Amidst Summer Heatwave
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Saudi Arabia Joins the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia
The Renowned Crown Prince Camel Festival Set to Return to Taif on Aug. 1
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
×