The Saudi Mining & Minerals Exhibition & Symposium 2015 was told that a mining and minerals industry sector training board is to be created to accelerate vocational and technical training in the industry.

“The government wants the private sector to lead this sector board in order to achieve the development and growth of the sector,” executive deputy director general of the kingdom’s Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) said on 28 October.

A sector board has already been set up to co-ordinate vocational and technical training in the energy industry.  The aim is to develop training boards for 21 industrial sectors.

The HRDF was created in 2000 to promote the employment of Saudi Arabians in the private sector.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ali al-Naimi told the conference on 27 October that plans to expand the kingdom’s mining and minerals industry call for the creation of 100,000 new jobs in the sector.

The inaugural event for Saudi Arabia’s mining industry is designed to engage all stakeholders in the sector from upstream exploration to downstream industrial development. More than 3,000 delegates and visitors are expected. The exhibition features 50 exhibitors from 10 countries. 

The Saudi Mining & Minerals Exhibition & Symposium 2015 is jointly organised by MEED Events and Montgomery Star. Sponsors are Saudi Arabian Mining Company Ma’aden, Atheeb Intergraph Saudi Company, Outotec, Ali Salem Al Raddadi Factory, Saudi Specialty Chemical Industries Company Limited (SSCI), ThyssenKrupp, SRK Consulting, Roscoe Postle Associates and The Saudi British Bank.

The exhibition and symposium is taking place until 29 October at the Prince Sultan Grand Hall, Al Faisaliah Exhibition & Convention Centre in Riyadh.