Trade Minister Launches “Future Skills Initiative” at Saudi-British Strategic Partnership Council Meeting

In conjunction with the Human Capability Initiative Conference under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Social Affairs, Minister of Commerce and Head of the Saudi-British Strategic Partnership Economic Committee, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, inaugurated the “Future Skills” initiative. The initiative aims to exchange qualitative experiences to develop future skills in 13 promising sectors, with the participation of 40 officials from both sides and 100 leaders from the business sectors in both countries.

During the launch, Al-Qasabi led a high-level Saudi-British meeting joined by Minister of Education Yusuf bin Abdullah Al-Binian, Deputy Minister of Sports Badr bin Abdulrahman Al-Qadi, British Minister of Early Education at the Ministry of Education, Stephen Morgan, and British government representatives in education and healthcare Sir Steve Smith, Professor Steve Field, and British Ambassador to the Kingdom Neil Crompton.

The meeting discussed promising opportunities in priority sectors, workshop outcomes that addressed skill gaps, and mechanisms for cooperation between universities and the business sector to provide experiential learning opportunities in trade, investment, financial services, energy, education, healthcare, innovation, transportation, industry, environment, sports, culture, and tourism.

The initiative activities included a high-level panel discussion where Al-Qasabi highlighted that 67% of Saudis are under 35 years old, emphasizing that investing in lifelong learning and continuous skills refinement is not optional but a necessity. The session also witnessed the announcement of an agreement between Fiqh College of Medical Sciences and British nursing colleges at Queen’s University and Coventry University to establish an accelerated nursing degree program, supporting higher education in the nursing field. This aligns with the Kingdom’s efforts to transfer British qualitative experiences in education and training to enhance the skills of workers in high-growth sectors, boosting the Kingdom’s global competitiveness.

Al-Qasabi also oversaw the signing of an agreement between the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk) and London Business School to foster partnerships in leadership skills development, academic partnerships, research, and executive education, as the College preps its commercial record for the Riyadh opening.

The launch of the “Future Skills” initiative witnessed the signing of five agreements between the Saudi and British sides, including a partnership between Sherborne School in the UK and Ma’arif Education Company, as well as a joint executive training program in the field of technical and vocational training between the Ministry of Commerce and Business in the UK and the General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training in the Kingdom. Memorandums of cooperation were also signed between the National Institute for Education and Professional Development in the Kingdom and the University of London College, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom and the British Council, Imperial College London, and the Sync Company for Capacity Development and Learning Solutions. Additionally, 15 educational companies and British universities participated in the “EDGex” exhibition.

It is worth noting that the “Future Skills” initiative involved the participation of 24 government entities, including the Ministries of Commerce, Energy, Education, Tourism, Investment, Finance, Industry and Mineral Wealth, Sports, Culture, Health, Environment, Water and Agriculture, Human Resources and Social Development, Transport and Logistics Services, Public Investment Fund, Royal Commission for Al-Ula, General Authority for Transport, General Ports Authority, General Authority for Roads, General Authority for Civil Aviation, Research and Innovation Development Authority, Saudi Central Bank, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training, and Council of University Affairs.