NEOM on Tuesday launched its first diploma program, which aims to improve the technical skills of more than 6,000 trainees in the next five years and to localize jobs in different sectors of NEOM. In the first year of the program, 1,000 students will receive training in tourism, hospitality and cybersecurity. Students will receive training in NEOM Academy, which was launched in January.
NEOM Director Nadhmi Al-Nasr said that empowering competent people is one of the objectives of NEOM.
Simon Ainslie is the Chief Operating Officer at NEOM. Here, he explains the inspiring vision for NEOM as an accelerator of human progress paving the way towards the New Future.
Driven by great minds and pioneers in a new space, NEOM is a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for sustainable living, working and prospering.
Saudi Arabia's construction of the £400billion futuristic megacity Neom has been delayed due to plunging oil prices and coronavirus fears hitting the land of billionaire princes. The futuristic tech-hub was set to be completed in 2025 and be home to one million people, costing an estimated $500billion (£413billion). The complex of Moroccan-style opulent buildings and palaces is planned to include helipads, a marina and a golf course and be lit by a giant artificial moon. But plummeting oil prices and a coronavirus-led economic slump forced the Saudi government to introduce austerity measures last week, putting Neom's future at risk, the Times reported.
“The future has a new home,” proclaims the website.
“It’s a virgin area that has a lot of beauty,” says the voice over a string section soundtrack as the promotional video tracks colour-tinted panoramic shots of picturesque desert expanses, and deep azure lagoons. “Better humans, better society,” it boasts extravagantly.
The brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the new city state of Neom, named from a combination of the Greek word for “new” and the Arabic term for “future”, is intended to cover an area the size of Belgium at the far north of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastline.
Hello to all of our new users. It's great to see you as interested in NEOM as we are!
We've been a bit busy travelling and meeting people over the last few months - and the Coronavirus really hasn't helped at all - so we hope to get the suppliers directory up and running very soon.
This is an independent project not connected to NEOM or KSA in any way. We just feel that it would be great to have a directory of companes who want to make NEOM a great success.
Take a look at our example listings whilst we get things ready.
Now several race weekends into its debut season in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team is pleased to announce a new Principal Partner in the shape of NEOM.
This long-term agreement offers opportunities for knowledge transfer and for further education and training in the NEOM region in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. The development of young racing drivers is also a key element. The agreement provides for selected candidates from Saudi Arabia to be given the opportunity to work closely with the racing team and further qualify as engineers and software developers.
The first batch of students under the “NEOM Scholarship Program ending in employment” will embark on their educational journey earlier this week. The 15-member batch, including six girls, will set out to the United States, to pursue their studies in several specializations including tourism, hospitality, archeology and heritage.
They were picked from among more than 300 students who had applied for the first phase of the scholarship program. This is within the program launched by the NEOM Company, which has a plan to send 250 most talented male and female students from the local community over the coming five years. NEOM Co. has chosen these students from the regions of NEOM, Duba and Haql through a registration and admission process that started in July 2019.
Saudi Arabia is one of the UK’s major trading partners in the Middle East, and its Vision 2030 plan to help it diversify away from dependence on oil includes major building projects. So is the kingdom a good place for UK construction firms to do business? In general terms and subject to regional stability, the picture is positive. There are a variety of other impressive projects in the pipeline, including the Riyadh Metro, medical facilities, and solar and wind projects.
So we've been travelling around ths last few weeks talking to people involved in NEOM and trying to get in to the construction area itself to get some photos and maybe an interview. Not possible.
We are back next week so will keep updating you with NEOM news and work on getting the directory launched. There's been a lot of interest from all over the world - some large companies as well!
See you all soon
The NEOM News team
