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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):
1. Macroeconomic and Employment Landscape – Economic profile of KSA and its key industries, current and future demand of programs of KSA
2. POV - Employers – Interviewing potential employers within institutions in the target segment to understand the expectations from candidates and programs
3. 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:
• 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.
• It is clear from the above chart that employers from many sectors would be seeking graduates from Psychology, especially the education sector (10%) and Human Health and social work activities (7%).
• The study also concludes that the Saudi Government will focus on the Saudization of all education jobs at national and international schools over the next three years. This move is expected to create around 28,000 new jobs for Saudi nationals. This implies that there will be an increasing need for school counselors and teachers, and college and university professors, and our Psychology Program prepares students for school level teaching, and for admission in higher education. Both aim at fulfilling these upcoming country needs.
POV (Point of View) - Employer
The market study shows that most industries have a positive outlook after the pandemic except Hospitality, Retail and F&B. For example, Educational institutions and Health care are two sectors that have a 100% positive outlook. This means that there will always be demand for teachers and mental health workers, two areas the ET and PSY Departments can contribute to.
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:
• 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.
• 100% of the employers in Jeddah and Makkah are aware of Effat University, followed by 60% in Riyadh, while the awareness is lower in other regions of KSA.
• 70% of the employers that are aware of EU are inclined to recruit candidates from EU in the coming years. EU is currently ranked as 61 – 70 in QS Arab Regional Ranking 2022, moved up from 101 – 110 ranking in 2019, tracing an upward trajectory.
• 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)
• The graph above shows that 58% of employers seek graduates from the Liberal Arts. All Effat University undergraduate programs including Psychology Program have compulsory 42 credits of General Education Program rooted in the Liberal Arts, indicating that employers will be looking for our graduates in the coming years.
• The combined share of business, administration and law; health and welfare course enrollments among total higher education enrollments in Saudi Arabia increased from 45% in 2013 to 51% in 2019.
• Psychology Department has international and national academic partnerships. Psychology Program has the long term successful international academic partnership with the Carnegie Melon University (CMU) of USA, and has signed many agreements over the years with CMU. Additionally, department has external benchmarking agreement with the Princess Noura Bint Abdurehman University (PNU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Psychology Department has also got approval for the establishment of a Chapter of the International Honor Society in Psychology Psi Chi.
• 100% of the employers in Jeddah and Makkah are aware of Effat University, followed by 60% in Riyadh, while the awareness is lower in other regions of KSA.
• 70% of the employers that are aware of EU are inclined to recruit candidates from EU in the coming years.
• 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.
• 75% of the employers would like to receive direct communication from EU about their updated curriculum to the industry needs and newsletters about their students’ achievements which will increase their likelihood of hiring from the university.
• There is high demand across individual programs offered by Effat College of Engineering. Employers also noted the research done on Smart Building and Virtual Reality by EU.
• Undergraduate and postgraduate programs in finance and marketing, along with undergraduate in psychology are a few other popular programs amongst the employers.
• Other programs/subjects suggested by employers that are likely to be in demand in the coming years are 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.
• 75% of the employers would like to receive direct communication from EU about their updated curriculum to the industry needs and newsletters about their students’ achievements which will increase their likelihood of hiring from the university.
• The psychology is a popular program amongst the employers.
• Graduates from Effat College of Humanities show great technical knowledge, communication skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills and an awareness on world matters, which are amongst the most important characteristics employers are looking for.
• The ET and PSY programs both require the completion of internships (180 hrs and 360 hrs, respectively. 62% of employers consider this an important skill in new employees.
• 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:
% of the employers indicated the university name as most reputed (Unaided resoponses)
• The combined share of business, administration and law; health and welfare course enrollments among total higher education enrollments in Saudi Arabia increased from 45% in 2013 to 51% in 2019.
• EU is currently ranked as 61 – 70 in QS Arab Regional Ranking 2022, moved up from 101 – 110 ranking in 2019, tracing an upward trajectory.
• EU has established strong partnerships with 15 global universities including Duke University, Georgetown University, Syracuse University, University of Miami, Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, and Auburn University for programs ranging from engineering to business management, on par with other regional leading universities.
POV (Point of View)– Students & Parents
• A student’s journey to choosing a university is described 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.
• The Market study shows that there is a high demand for Psychology. The demand from the market is likely to come from the following sectors: Education & Research, Healthcare, Hospitality and Entrepreneurship. There will also be high demand for continuous courses especially, English language and test preparation.
• The table below shows that Clinical Psychology is among the popular programs amongst students (9%).
Undergraduate Programs Postgraduate Programs
Effat College of Architecture & Design - BSc Arcchitecture 14% Effat College of Business - BSc Finance - Finance 4%
Effat College of Business - BSc Marketing 11% Effat College of Humanities - BSc Translation and Interpreting 2%
Effat College of Engineering - BSc Computer Science 11%
Effat College of Humanities - BSc PsychologyClinicalPsychology 9%
Effat College of Business - BSc Finance 6%
Effat College of Engineering - BSc Elecctrical & Computer 6%
Effat College of Humanities - BSc English & Translation 5%
Effat College of Business - BSc Supply Chain Management 5% Effat College of Humanities - BSc English & Translation
• 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:
• 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:
• According to current students, marketing, business administration and psychology are the graduation streams of choice for higher or further education as shown 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:
• 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:
• 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:
Potential UG Students
• 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:
• 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:
• 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:
