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Saudi Apprentices
Our current selection of vacancies and points of contact are listed under ‘Job Vacancies’.
Please note that we are committed to equal opportunities and diversity in our workforce, but also respect the culture, beliefs, legal and customer requirements in the countries in which we operate. Employment in Saudi Arabia is subject to the Company’s ability to obtain a visa for work in the Kingdom and therefore we are only inviting male applicants for these roles.
A Brief History
The history of the present Kingdom of Saudi Arabia began early in 1902 when Abdulaziz with 40 men recaptured the Al Masmak fortress in Riyadh from the Rashid family, which had its seat of power in the city of Hail. This family had captured Riyadh in 1890 from the Al-Saud family and forced them to flee to Kuwait, where they lived in exile for a number of years until Abdulaziz, at 21 years of age, returned to Riyadh.
The years following his triumph were spent in a restless drive to bring unity, peace and prosperity to the land of Arabia, completing by 1924 the process of territorial unification. The country was named the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 and HM King Abdulaziz became a major force for peace in the Middle East and an influential spokesman for Arab unity.
Oil was discovered during his reign, but he died in Taif in 1953 before the full impact of this discovery was felt in the country. However, he did leave behind a Kingdom firmly established and internationally recognised.
Following the death of HM King Abdulaziz, his eldest surviving son, Saud, became King, but without the same ability and expertise, and in 1964 his brother, Faisal, succeeded him. Under HM King Faisal, Saudi Arabia made enormous strides in developing its resources. Following the death of King Faisal in 1975, Khaled became King and Fahd became Crown Prince. King Khaled died in 1982 and Fahd became King, taking the title, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Geography
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia covers about four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula, which is bounded by the Red Sea in the west, the Arabian Gulf in the east, and the Arabian Sea in the south. Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan are the northern neighbours of Saudi Arabia. The other fifth of the peninsula is occupied by North and South Yemen, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The Kingdom is approximately 10 times the land size of Britain and has a population of about 15 million. Most of the population is concentrated in the cities and towns, so that vast areas of the country are uninhabited.
The terrain of Saudi Arabia is virtually all desert but not all sand. The great sand areas are the Rub-Al-Khali (better known as the Empty Quarter) in the south, the Great Nafud in the north and the Dhaka, a large strip of sand desert that sweeps down between the two in a large crescent. The coastal belt near the Arabian Gulf is generally flat, often sandy and fringed with marshland along the shores. There is relatively abundant water in this area along with large salt flats.
North of the Great Nafud desert are extensive plains of hard gravel and rock, while between the Great Nafud and Riyadh are found the great limestone escarpment areas of Tuwaiq and Armah. Stretching all the way down the Red Sea coast from the north is a low mountain range that increases to a very high mountainous area reaching North and South Yemen.
The country is divided into five main Provinces:
- The Central Province (Nadj) - Main cities: Riyadh, the capital, and Government centre, Buraidah and Hail, which are both centres for agriculture and livestock.
- The Western Province (Hejaz) - Main cities: Jeddah, foremost seaport and commercial capital of the Kingdom, Makkah and Medina, the largest cities of Islam (where non-Moslems are forbidden to enter), and Taif, which is the summertime seat of Government.
- The Eastern Province (Al Hasa) - Main cities: Dammam, a major seaport and industrial centre, Al Khobar, a residential and commercial centre, and Dhahran the focus of operation of the Province’s oil fields and site of an international airport.
- The Northern Province - Main city: Tabuk, a place of agricultural and strategic importance.
- The Southern Province (Asir) - Main city: Abha, at an altitude of 6,900 feet and near Khamis Mushayt.
The Central Government assumes responsibility for the Rub-Al-Khali.
