Saudi Arabia's Labor Minister found a novel way of encouraging Saudis to take jobs they think are beneath them -- by working as a waiter for three hours in a fast-food restaurant, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
Saudi media carried pictures of Ghazi Algosaibi, surprising customers in a popular restaurant in the city of Jeddah by serving up hamburgers.
"The beginning will always be tiring and difficult, but young people can realize their ambitions if they are persistent and work hard," al-Watan reported Algosaibi as saying before kissing a Saudi worker on the head in appreciation.
Algosaibi, a poet and former ambassador to London, has fought a battle against business and religious interests to attract more Saudis, including women, into employment.
Around a third of Saudi Arabia's population of some 25 million is foreigners. The government is trying to diversify the economy away from reliance on oil receipts.
Many Saudis including graduates hope for work in the government and shun many menial jobs done by the large expatriate labor force.
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據(jù)沙特周二的報紙報道，為鼓勵沙特人從事他們認為“低賤”的職業(yè)，沙特勞工部部長想出了一個奇特的方式：在快餐店做三個小時的服務生。
沙特媒體刊登了一幅勞工部長加齊?阿爾高賽比的照片，照片中的他在吉達市一家知名餐館為客人送上漢堡，令客人們大吃一驚。
據(jù)當?shù)貓蠹垺蹲鎳鴪蟆罚╨a-Watan）援引阿爾高賽比的話說，“剛開始總是很累、很難，但如果年輕人能堅持并努力工作，他們一定能實現(xiàn)自己的抱負?！闭f完這番話，他還親吻了一名沙特工作人員的額頭以表示感謝。
阿爾高賽比是一名詩人，也曾是沙特前駐英大使。他鼓勵包括婦女在內(nèi)的更多沙特人從事和商業(yè)及宗教相關的工作。
沙特共有約250萬人口，約有1/3是外國人。沙特政府正在努力發(fā)展多樣化經(jīng)濟，而不僅僅依賴于石油收入。
包括大學畢業(yè)生在內(nèi)，很多沙特人希望能在政府機構工作，而不愿從事服務性行業(yè)，而這一行業(yè)主要由大批在沙特務工的外國人從事。
