Saudi Arabia has made a major change to the skills required of some international workers. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) has announced the launch of the Skill Verification Program (SVP) in Sri Lanka for five out of the 23 targeted professional specializations.
The professional specializations included in the SVP are plumbing, electricity, automotive electricity, automotive mechanics, and refrigeration and air conditioning.
The SVP expansion into Sri Lanka comes as part of the ministry’s broader international outreach efforts, following successful launches in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The primary objective of the program is to verify the skills of workers, improve the quality of professional work, enhance productivity, and curb the influx of unqualified labor into the job market in Saudi Arabia.
To obtain the SVP certificate, the ministry has provided detailed instructions for interested workers. This process involves registering on the SVP portal, scheduling a theoretical and practical test, and confirming details with the test supervisors before taking the examination.
Once the evaluation is successfully completed, the professional worker is issued the SVP certificate, which becomes an additional requirement during the recruitment process.
The SVP is an integral part of the “Professional Accreditation System,” aimed at regulating the job market and elevating the workforce’s quality in line with the labor market strategy in Saudi Arabia.
