Staffing in Saudi Arabia

“With the aim of Saudi Vision 2030 set to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy, and reduce its reliance on the oil industry, the state’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was tasked with investing in companies and developing a series of giga projects. These have been positioned to stimulate growth within non-oil sectors and expand entertainment and tourism offerings for both Saudi nationals and foreign visitors. With this, the Kingdom has set out to invest $64 billion in entertainment and amusement by 2030.

“The nation has since seen a boom in the launch of annual calendar events as well as a huge surge in the scheduling of internationally appealing concerts, exhibitions and conferences. As a result, the staffing industry has grown to accommodate the rising demand for skilled event organisers and experts to support the burgeoning scene. Over the next 10 years, Saudi Arabia will be home to some of the world’s best event talent experts, given the entertainment sector’s rapid rate of expansion.

“I n addition to the growing number of events, the Kingdom is seeing more immersive and memorable event experiences integrating the use of innovative technologies. Organisers are increasingly thinking outside the box in order to ensure events stand out among competitor brands. Examples of specific technologies to enhance the event visitor experience include interactive displays, augmented reality and VR, creating next-level experiences for visitors.

“As a result of the significant investment in the entertainment and events segment, Saudi youth, which make up 50% of the country’s population, are being encouraged to enter the industry. The 2019 Jeddah Season alone created 5,000 jobs for young men and women. Many nationals who had previously left the nation to pursue careers abroad in markets such as the UK, UAE, and US are returning to the Kingdom to enjoy some of the many opportunities now available in entertainment.

“We understand that delivering an exceptionally authentic event requires expert planning, skilled event personnel, and dedicated and efficient on-ground support to ensure the event runs smoothly. With THA Staffing’s dedicated recruitment drives scheduled across Riyadh and Jeddah, we ensure bespoke screening processes to find the right talent in alignment with client requirements.

“We continue to expand our operations in KSA in line with the growing demand for staffing solutions for the entertainment and leisure sectors. Since we established our offices in Saudi Arabia, we have deployed over 1,000 personnel across our staffing and Event Expert verticals for many large-scale events in the Kingdom during a period of less than four months. Some of the events we have staffed include Noor Riyadh 2022, Neom Games 2022, MDLBEAST Soundstorm, Red Sea Film Festival, Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup Activation among others, and we aim to double this number over the next six months as we build our presence in the Kingdom.

“The outlook for Saudi Arabia’s events sector for 2023 and 2024 demonstrates the upward curve we are seeing come to fruition. We offer an innovative approach to talent sourcing for clients, and we are augmenting the entertainment segment with a freelancer-centric business model. This allows for seamless access to a base of more than 5,000 staff, in order to ensure the right talent is found to support any event the Kingdom has in store over the coming years.”