Serco highlights commitment to supporting Saudisation in the wake of the pandemic

The CEO of international public services company, Serco Middle East, has outlined the vision for the business in the Middle East post the pandemic. This vision will see the business accelerate specific areas to help support the government, with a big focus on Saudisation and enhancing Citizen Services to encourage growth in the Kingdom.

Serco’s strategy of managing people, assets and data remains, with the international public services company reinforcing its committed in its focus on nationalisation and service excellence, aided by ExperienceLab, its newly launched, customer experience and design offering. A big part of the focus for the company is related to nationalisation, which forms a key part of its strategy. Its aim is to build a workforce in the private sector that features GCC nationals at the forefront of the delivery of essential public services.

Testament to this is Serco’s work with Mashroat, a contract which started just over a year ago.  This government organisation is focused on enhancing the efficiency of the national infrastructure, with a strong focus on training, educating and upskilling the local workforce with knowledge shared from Serco’s global experience in the operations and maintenance sector.

Phil Malem, CEO Serco Middle East comments: “Nationalisation, is a key part of our strategy. Our aim is to build a workforce in the private sector that features GCC nationals at the forefront of the delivery of essential public services. Training is a key part of this, and it’s something we take very seriously.

“That is why we launched several programmes that offer training for both technical competencies and soft skills, to help young Saudis launch their careers and lead the way in the future. This dedication to Saudisation has been recognised by governments and we have been granted Platinum status as a result of our high percentage of GCC nationals in leadership roles.

Indeed, the business will also launch its graduate programme in June which is open to nationals and expats from the Kingdom, as the company looks to further cement its commitment to supporting the careers of young Saudi nationals.

As well as this, the business also will accelerate its support for governments when it comes to supporting them with cost savings and driving efficiencies. Phil Malem believes that the impact of COVID-19 on the Citizen Services sector will highlight the fundamental importance of outsourcing, with governments being focused more than ever on cost savings and driving efficiencies.

Phil Malem comments: “Post COVID-19, we will start seeing more and more collaborations between the public and private sector, working in true partnership to transition to an era of service delivery. We will support with the delivery of transformative programmes with citizens, government visions and employees being at the heart of everything we do. As well as this we will be supporting with driving operational and cost efficiencies for key services through process improvement, innovation and transforming citizen experience.”

But when it comes to the impacts of the pandemic, Phil Malem remains resolute: “We are looking to come out of this situation stronger than ever. We have been adapting our business in the Kingdom to the current situation and have been preparing for life after COVID-19. We remain true to our core strategy, whilst accelerating specific areas to help economies get moving again.”