Factory tour provides hands-on experience to Saudi students

RIYADH: A school-to-work curriculum that focuses on industrialization and manufacturing is giving students a view of several career options ranging from factory staff, like engineers and technicians, to industrialists and entrepreneurs.
The initiative, launched by the state-owned Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON), has enrolled 19,000 Saudi students so far.
“Through the program, these students had the opportunity to visit different industrial cities in the Kingdom during the last nine months,” said Maher A. Al-Hailan, a MODON spokesman, on Thursday.
Al-Hailan said that the students visited several factories to examine the phases of the Saudi manufacturing sector, to learn about industries, identify production bottlenecks, and acquaint themselves with varied career options.
He pointed out that the students were of different grades and ages, including primary students — both boys and girls. He said: “MODON has adopted this program as part of its social responsibility strategy with the aim of introducing modern industrial technologies to the new generation.” The move is also intended to link schools with practical experience, which has been one of the key components of the Saudi Vision 2030.
Referring to the importance of this initiative, Al-Hailan called on all schools in the Kingdom wishing to visit the industrial cities to submit their requests through the MODON website (www.modon.gov.sa). He pointed out that MODON will coordinate with the student applicants to arrange the visits after they submit their requests online. Currently, MODON oversees 35 industrial cities Kingdom-wide, comprising a number of national and international factories.
The industrial cities of MODON are a hub of high-tech factories, local and international industries, advanced equipment and modern business facilities. The total investment in these industrial cities exceeds SR300 billion today. This is in addition to new industrial cities being developed by MODON, the ‘Apex’ Saudi agency, which is also responsible for the regulation and promotion of industrial estates and technology zones in the Kingdom.