National Skill Development Corporation of India and TakaMol Holding of Saudi Arabia have launched the Skill Verification Program (SVP) in India. The SVP aims to verify Indian professional workers for the required qualifications and skills for their professions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Under the SVP, a competency-based exam (theoretical and practical) across 17 benchmarked occupations such as welding, electrician, HVAC, and plumbing will be held to assess and raise the quality of skill and productivity in the Saudi labour market. Five professions, such as plumber, electrician, welder, refrigeration/air conditioning technician, and automobile electrician, are selected for the skill testing in the first phase, say reports from Saudi Arabia. The tests of skilled workers will be carried out for the Indian workers before they could apply for a Saudi work visa.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development of Saudi Arabia, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, launched the SVP in March 2021. The SVP is an effort to improve the professional competence of the skilled workers in the Saudi employment market, enhance their productivity, improve the quality of their professional services, bring down the influx of unqualified workers into the market, and contribute to developing their skills according to international standards.
