320 Thais sign up for employment in Saudi Arabia
More than 300 Thais have applied for work in Saudi Arabia where the high-skill category offers a minimum salary of 100,000 baht a month.
Pairote Chotikasthira, director-general at the Department of Employment, said that Thailand is currently in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia on state-to-state jobs, which is expected to be completed in early March.
Once the agreement is finalised, it will begin the process of recruiting Thais to work in Saudi Arabia in various fields.
He said it was in the process of inviting requests to work there.
The request has been open for 10 days. There are 320 people who have applied so far. Most of them are technicians, labourers and factory workers from Bangkok, the Northeast, Chonburi, Songkhla, Pattani and Yala, he said.
After completing the agreement, the job seekers will be notified about their travel details and their salary in Saudi Arabia. Those who are chosen to work will be charged the application fee, airfare, and daily expenses in Saudi Arabia, he said.
Saudi Arabia is in need of personnel in highly skilled groups such as engineers, industrial professionals, specialised occupations, followed by semi-skilled labourers such as cooks, semi-skilled workers, officers in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
Unskilled workers can earn a minimum wage of 2,000 riyals or 17,000 baht/month, semi-skilled workers can earn a minimum wage of 3,000-9,000 riyals (25,000-75,000 baht/month), and the high-skill group can earn minimum 15,000 riyals/month (100,000 baht/month), Pairote said.