Al Marwa Rayhaan bolsters efforts to bring Saudis to hospitality industry

(MENAFN- Arab News) Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana in Makkah has stepped up its Saudization efforts through its Duroob program the chain's plan designed to increase the rate of Saudization at the hotel.
Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana which overlooks the Grand Mosque in Makkah and has direct access to King Abdulaziz Gate is the first hotel operated by Rotana in the Kingdom.
The Duroob program was designed to be used in all of its hotels across the Gulf countries. In Saudi Arabia the program focuses primarily on empowering Saudis in the hospitality industry with career opportunities that also contribute greatly to the Saudization of the local work force.
Although Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana already can point to a 30 percent Saudization rate achieved by hiring Saudis for positions in human resources accounting reception kitchen restaurant engineering and electrical the hotel expects to exceed 45 percent Saudization by the end of the year.
'We are focusing on participants in the King Abdullah Scholarship Program who graduated with degrees in the hospitality and related industries. We have six of those graduates on our payroll now' Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana Hotel in Makkah GM Bassam Khanfar said.
The hotel's hiring drive was bolstered by an open recruitment day prior to the start of Ramadan an event that repeated during the last week of August.
In addition to being a fast track development program that will drive local talent to grow faster within the hospitality industry the Duroob program addresses unemployment among citizens by bridging the gap between local and foreign workers in the labor market.
Mohamad Haj Hassan area VP of Rotana in KSA Sudan Egypt Iraq Kuwait Qatar Jordan and Bahrain said: 'New hires will be able to observe and learn about operations from the ground up.'