III. Summary of Market Scan Findings

• IPSOS conducted an in-depth market research on the KSA Education market in December 2021 with the following objectives to develop a sound strategic plan for Effat University (EU):

• Macroeconomic and Employment Landscape – Economic profile of KSA and its key industries, current and future demand of programs of KSA

• POV - Employers – Interviewing potential employers within institutions in the target segment to understand the expectations from candidates and programs

• POV – Students & Parents –Understanding the perceptions and attitudes of the current students and potential students and their parents, towards universities and programs

• To achieve the objective, IPSOS conducted a comprehensive desk research, quantitative survey with 875+ stakeholders (employers (50), current students (154), potential students (61) and parents (112) of the potential students), backed up by qualitative research for deeper insights.

• Here are the key findings from the research:

Macroeconomic and Employment Landscape

• While oil remains the major export product for Saudi Arabia, its dominance of the total export share for the country has declined over the past few years as shown in the graph below:

• It is clear from this chart that employers from wholesale and retail are about (17%), public administration and defense (16%), manufacturing (11%), and construction (11%) who would be seeking our graduates from Supply Chain Management, Finance, Marketing and Master of Science in Finance. Furthermore, 28% of employers from other domains will be seeking our graduates. As all these fields need graduates with skills and competences in managing the finances, projects, inventory, quality, production, services, marketing and sales which are provided in our current curriculums of the programs currently offered at ECoB.According to IPSOS market study:

• Under The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), about 1,600,000 jobs are expected to be created by 2030. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia will invest over SAR 500 billion in airports, seaports, rail and other infrastructure by 2030 to make the kingdom a global transportation and logistics hub.

• Saudi Arabia aims to create 20,000 data analytics and experts by 2030.

• The government is currently in pushing for greater reform and privatization. The sector register a growth of 16 percent in 2019. Traditionally this segments looks at hiring candidates with a degree in Finance & Accounting as well as Business Administration & Marketing.

• ‘Marketing Industry’ is expected to have had a cumulative growth of 15% in 2019. Traditionally this segment looks at hiring candidates with a degree in Sales and Marketing.

• Travel and tourism industry currently accounting for 9% of GDP and is expected to grow at an accelerated rate thanks to $65 Billion earmarked for investment into the sector. Expected to grow at CAGR of 5.6% till 2023. The industry needs graduates from accounting and finance, supply chain, marketing, sales etc.

• Retail is one of the key sectors that has been identified for aggressive Saudization, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6% till 2024. Marketing, sales and supply chain and Finance & Accounting are typical majors to hire from.

Thus from this information, Accounting and Finance, Operations and supply chain management, Marketing and sales are the most in demand majors for ECoB.

• 80% of the population is employed by private companies while 20% are in government services.

• 56% of the employed population is at the bachelor’s or equivalent level.

• Human Capital Development Program (HCDP) has set a goal to raise the percentage of higher education graduates in employment within six months of graduation from 4.5% in 2019 to 20% in 2025.

POV (Point of View) - Employer

• Despite a decline in overall population share, female share of total workforce has increased from 11% in 1990 to 16% in 2020.

• Wholesale and retail sector is the largest employer followed by public administration and defense as indicated in the chart below:

This module captures the willingness and likelihood of employers in KSA to hire graduates of Effat University. The findings were as follows:

• Driven by Saudization, employers across sectors noted that entry level hiring is likely to grow more than 5% in the next 3 to 5 years. 6 -10% of the employees are at entry level/fresh graduates. Saudization is expected to bring about 7.6%-12.5% growth in recruiting entry level/fresh graduate candidates.

• 70% of the employers surveyed also stated when it comes to recruiting candidates for entry level jobs, the University the candidate graduated from is the most important parameter.

• The key parameters used by employers to evaluate a university are the ‘Reputation’ of the university, its ‘Partnership with International Universities’, ‘Regional Ranking’ & ‘Past Experience’ with the students from the same university. Below is the snapshot of the universities considered as most reputed among employers:

% of the employers indicated the university name as most reputed (Unaided resoponses)

% of the employers indicated the university name as most reputed (Unaided resoponses)

• Effat University’s reputation stands tall amongst the private universities, with 56% of the employers considering EU as one of the most reputed universities.

• Majority of the employers state that they consider the candidates are technically sound, with very good communication skills, in addition to holding a recognized internationally accredited degree. The table below depicts the key skills preferred by the employers in order to hire candidates:

% of the employers indicated the university name as most reputed (Unaided resoponses)

• It is clear from the graph above that employers seek other subjects such as Management and Hospitality Management, which could be foreseen as double majors or major-minor with Finance, Marketing, and Supply Chain Management programs. It is to note here that six general management courses (18 credit hours) are part of our curriculum of all UG programs offered at OSCM department.

• OSCM department partnered with Georgetown University for undergraduate program.

• As for the employers’ propensity to hire candidates, there is high demand for finance and marketing, along with supply chain management.

POV (Point of View)– Students & Parents

• A student’s journey to choosing a university is described as follows:

• While the employers (~10) that are likely to recruit from Effat in the coming years are content with the positive reputation of the university, technical skills of the students, positive relationship with EU, etc., they have suggested that the candidates from EU would have a scope to work on their confidence level and interpersonal/presentation skills.

• There is high demand across individual programs offered by Effat College of Business (ECoB). Employers commented in the survey that the recruits from ECoB had great technical knowledge, communication skills, internationally accredited degree (e.g. AACSB), interpersonal and problem solving skills, and practical exposure.

• All OSCM UG programs require completing a mandatory internship to cover practicum hours.

• It is worth noting that students’ enrollment in the Ambassador Program and their participation in campus-wide activities and clubs, in addition to volunteering in events give them the practical exposure 70% of employers are looking for and the extra-curricular activities 56% of employers are looking for.

• Other programs/subjects suggested by employers that are likely to be in demand in the coming years are as follows:

Current Student

• Location, preferred subjects and reputation are the key parameters for evaluating among the universities.

• Even though the EU placement test (English & Math) are considered as moderately difficult, overall admission process at EU was seen as smooth.

• Marketing program is the most popular program currently studied by undergraduate students followed by Finance program, while postgraduate students are currently studying Master of Finance as shown in the table below:

• As shown in the figure below, Marketing program is leading the interests in ECoB programs, followed by Finance program and supply chain management program.

• Among the postgraduate programs offered in EU, MSF received more interest by students.

• As shown in the figure below, marketing is the most popular ECoB program, followed by finance and supply chain management.

• Before deciding on EU, current students planned on visiting the university’s official website, seek advice from their families and visiting the university’s campus as shown in the table below:

• After considering the overall experience as a student at EU, 6 in 10 students are satisfied with the institution. This is depicted by the table below:

• According to current students, offering scholarships, the availability of preferred programs and the quality of education are the reasons behind choosing EU as shown in the table below:

• 2 in 10 students are highly likely to continue their higher education with EU. According to current students, law program is the top program EU could consider. Increasing the number of teaching staff is the top improvement area according to current students as depicted by the chart below:

• According to current students, marketing and business administration are the graduation streams of choice for higher or further education as shown below:

• Internet and social media as well as the television are the types of media most viewed by potential postgraduates. Instagram and Twitter are the social media platforms accessed regularly as depicted in the charts below:

• Quality of education, reputation of the university and the career opportunities are the top reasons high school students consider Effat University. When comparing results with the overall universities, availability of dorms, international affiliations and ties with foreign universities are significantly higher for Effat University as shown in the chart below:

IV. Strategic Plan Strategic Area 1: Mission, Vision, and Strategic Planning

• Internet and social media are the types of media most viewed by high school student. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are the social media platforms accessed regularly as shown in the charts below:

Actions by Initiatives

Implement Annual Operational Plan

• Formulate and set the 5-year strategic plan.

• Develop and implement the annual operational plan.

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• Top reasons behind considering Effat University by postgraduate students are having affordable fees, quality of education and the alumni network. When comparing the results with the overall universities, affordable fee, alumni network, international affiliations and the faculty’s profile are reasons that are significantly higher as shown in the table below:

• Assess and report on the achievement of the annual operational plan for all units every Fall and Spring semester.

• Provide recommendation and improve the operational plan of the following year.

Objective 2: Appraise OSCM Mission Objective and Success

Actions by Initiatives

• Evaluate the Achievement of OSCM Mission Statement

• Identify the relevant KPIs that best represent the Mission components.

• Evaluate and report on the related KPIs and assess the overall achievement of the Mission.

• Provide recommendation and improvement plans where necessary.