PARTNER UPDATE
Golf Saudi steps up to the mark – with bells on It’s now been almost a year since Golf Saudi signed a bold new partnership with the Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE) back in 2020. In the intervening 12 months, both parties have been hard at work to implement a series of multi-level, certified Arabic language educational programmes, amidst new launches, new strategies, new goals and ambitious targets.
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olf Saudi is as committed as ever to delivering a dynamic programme that transforms the golfing landscape by embarking on this training and education pathway. Becoming one of the most innovative golf markets in the world will only be possible through the upskilling of this domestic work force. Golf is good for business and can provide a direct boost to the Kingdom’s GDP, as well as providing lucrative jobs and creating new enterprise. The CMAE partnership has never been more important in terms of helping achieve Golf Saudi’s ultimate mission to develop Saudi nationals as leaders of the country’s golfing ecosystem. This is where the CMAE comes in, and by working together, Golf Saudi has already been able to make progress on core human resources targets of growing the domestic golf talent pool and ultimately creating new Saudi National Certified Club Managers. There is now an education and training pathway in place for Saudi Nationals to become equipped with the knowledge to embark on a role within the golf industry. As the priority for Golf Saudi is to have 2,250 Saudi nationals working in the golf industry by 2025 and to reach 3,750 nationals by 2030, our partnership with the CMAE is the starting point for this. The future of the game lies with the young, and if
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Golf Saudi is to succeed, the organisation through CMAE’s assistance will need to convince as many young men and women as possible to not only take up the game of golf, but also believe that a future career in golf is as viable, as it is attractive. A busy year With all of this in mind, this has been another incredibly busy year for Golf Saudi, with the hosting of the Saudi International Powered by SoftBank Investment Advisors, the launch of the inaugural
Aramco Team Series the first ladies team event series of its kind, and the expansion of its National Sustainable Golf Strategy. As part of the National Sustainable Golf Strategy rollout, Golf Saudi has also launched new Green and Social agendas. These come together to create a singular golfing ecosystem which encourages best practice when it comes to environmental initiatives for golf course development as well as their operation. Since the formation of the National Sustainable Golf Strategy, it’s certainly been all systems go! Simultaneously, opportunities are being created via the Social Agenda, encouraging the population to pick-up the game for the first time, through education and training programmes, creating a national recruitment pool offering future careers in the golf industry for Saudi nationals. The launch of this Social Agenda in February 2021 was a vital first step in reaching our goals, as the programme is centred upon both the creation of employment opportunities and also education and leisure activities, which attract Saudis to the game in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Since its formation in 2018, Golf Saudi has organised a series of ambitious domestic and international events in order to entice the next generation of Saudis into the game with the goal of creating 20,000 new golfers over the next five years.
