What foreign employers get wrong about recruiting, paying and keeping Saudi staff, and the support programmes that exist to help them.
Hiring Saudi nationals is both a compliance requirement under Nitaqat and a practical advantage, since Saudi staff bring language, networks and familiarity with local institutions. The Saudi workforce has changed fast, with many more graduates and much higher female participation than a decade ago. The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF, known as Hadaf) runs programmes that support employers who hire and train Saudis; check its current offers.
How to test a claim like this
Beliefs about Saudi hiring often come from a few anecdotes or from the period before large-scale localisation. Test each belief against your own candidate pipeline and the data published by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on the labour market, rather than against what a regional manager remembers from years ago.
Myth 1: Saudi nationals are only hired to meet quotas.
Reality: Companies that treat Saudi hires as numbers on a report tend to get disengaged employees and high turnover. Companies that hire into real roles with development paths find capable people across functions such as engineering, finance, sales and operations.
How to check it yourself: Look at whether your Saudi hires have real responsibilities and a promotion path, not only titles.
Myth 2: There are not enough qualified Saudi candidates.
Reality: The pool of Saudi graduates, including many who studied abroad, has grown substantially. Scarcity exists in some specialised fields, but many employers have a sourcing problem rather than a supply problem.
How to check it yourself: Use national employment platforms, university career centres and HRDF programmes before concluding there are no candidates.
Myth 3: Saudi staff cost the same as expatriates, so there is no support.
Reality: HRDF has run programmes that contribute to wages, training and onboarding for Saudi hires, subject to conditions. These change over time, but they can meaningfully reduce the cost of early hires.
How to check it yourself: Review the current HRDF programmes and their conditions before you set salaries.
Myth 4: Saudi employees will not accept private-sector hours.
Reality: Expectations vary by person and role, as they do everywhere. Clear contracts, fair pay and a respectful workplace matter more than nationality. Many Saudi professionals now build careers entirely in the private sector.
How to check it yourself: Compare turnover by team and manager, not by nationality, to see where the real problem is.
Myth 5: Any Saudi hire counts equally for Nitaqat.
Reality: Counting rules apply, for example on working hours, salary and registration with GOSI. A hire that does not meet those rules may not count fully, and fictitious employment is prohibited and penalised.
How to check it yourself: Confirm in Qiwa that each Saudi hire is counted as you expect.
Myth 6: Women are hard to hire in the Kingdom.
Reality: Female participation in the workforce has risen markedly since the reforms that began in 2017, and women work across many sectors. Employers need suitable facilities and policies, as the Labour Law and ministry guidance set out.
How to check it yourself: Review your workplace facilities and policies and advertise roles to all candidates.
What this changes in your decision
- Plan Saudi hiring into real roles with development paths from the first year.
- Check HRDF programmes before setting pay for Saudi hires.
- Use national employment platforms and universities to widen your pipeline.
- Verify Nitaqat counting for each hire in Qiwa.
- Measure retention by manager and team, not by nationality.
Domira works with foreign investors on the property side of entering Saudi Arabia: finding land or premises, due diligence, design, construction and asset management. For licensing, tax and legal steps, work with a licensed adviser; we coordinate with yours so the property decision fits the structure you choose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find Saudi candidates to hire?
Common channels include national employment platforms supported by HRDF, university career services, professional networks, recruitment firms and referrals. Graduate programmes are effective for building a pipeline over time. Advertising in both Arabic and English and being clear about the role and progression improves response from strong candidates.
Does HRDF pay part of the salary for Saudi employees?
HRDF has offered wage support for eligible Saudi hires for a defined period, along with training and onboarding programmes. Eligibility, amounts and duration are set by HRDF and change as programmes are revised. Review the current programmes and apply before or at the time of hiring, since some support is not available retrospectively.
Do Saudi graduates need work experience before a private company hires them?
No legal rule requires it, and many employers build graduate programmes precisely because the supply of new Saudi graduates is large. Graduates bring current training and often strong English, but need structured onboarding, a named supervisor and clear goals for the first year. Pairing graduate hiring with HRDF training support can make an entry-level programme affordable for a small company.
Is there a minimum salary for Saudi employees?
There are salary levels that affect how a Saudi employee counts toward Nitaqat, and these have been adjusted over time. Wage rules also apply more broadly under the Labour Law. Check the current counting thresholds in Qiwa, and set pay that is competitive for the role rather than at the minimum that counts.
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