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State-owned telecom giant STC has clinched the top spot as Saudi’s best workplace, LinkedIn’s 2024 Top Companies list showed yesterday. It unseated Aramco as Saudi’s top workplace this year, ending the oil giant’s three-year streak at the top of the list.
PIF companies take the lead: The Public Investment Fund-owned developer Red Sea Globalcame in at second place, followed by Aramco which Ceer — a JV between the PIF and Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn — came in fourth followed by PIF-owned real estate developer Roshn. The list also includes Saudi’s third largest bank by assets Riyad Bank, national carrier Saudia, Procter & Gamble, and Chalhoub Group among others.
You can thank the government for that: Linkedin attributed Saudi’s strides in luring in skilled talent to a regional HQs mandate for foreign firms. The plan, a cornerstone of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohamed bin Salman’s drive to build a diversified, globally significant non-oil economy, has been in the works since February 2021 and gives incentives to companies that make Saudi their GCC headquarters.
And more: Officials unveiled earlier this year a new special-talent residency program for priority sectors including healthcare, digital technologies, financial services, advanced manufacturing, energy, mining, logistics, tourism infrastructure and others. A hunt for talent has pushed the government to recently reconsider monthly fees applied since 2017 for the dependents of expats.
What they said: “This year’s lists show how companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are continuing to grow and expand, which further cements the region’s reputation as a leading business hub. Our research has previously indicated professionals’ appetite for new career moves in 2024, and this list recognizes those employers that can be a top choice for professionals looking to make those moves,” LinkedIn’s Senior News Editor Salma Altantawy said.
How did they come up with this list, anyway? Linkedin uses its own data to rank firms based on seven factors that it says contribute to career development, including chances to advance growth, the scope to learn, workplace equity, company stability, and company culture, it said. Only companies with at least 500 full-time employees in the country are eligible. The ranking period spans January-December 2023.
