By ANDREW TORCHIA | REUTERS
ARABNEWS

RIYADH: In a cavernous exhibition hall on the outskirts of Riyadh, dozens of young Saudi women stroll between corporate booths in search of jobs.

Each has completed a 3-1/2 hour aptitude test that gives her scores for 10 behavioral characteristics and two types of cognitive ability. The results are shown to as many as 81 potential employers which schedule job interviews using a centralized, online system.

It is Women’s Day at the first of a series of job fairs launched by the Saudi government this year to find employment for its citizens. In coming months the scheme aims to arrange interviews for 15,000 men and women out of 100,000 applicants, holding similar fairs in the cities of Jeddah and Dammam.

“In the past, finding a job was an uncertain process,” said Mohammed Mosly, a former investment banker who manages the scheme. “We’re using technology to make it predictable.”

Saudi Arabia’s economy is booming, fueled by high oil prices and heavy government spending. Gross domestic product of the world’s top oil exporter surged 6.8 percent last year, according to preliminary data, the fastest expansion since 2003; economists polled by Reuters expect growth to stay comfortable at 4.0 percent this year.

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Job seekers talk with recruiters during a job fair in Riyadh on Jan. 25. (Reuters)