11/10/2026
The Gulf Labour Markets, Migration and Population (GLMM) Programme of the Gulf Research Center- https://gulfmigration.grc.net/ - published a new Policy Brief.
📄Mehmet Ali Soytas,https://gulfmigration.grc.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Mehmet-Ali-Soytas-GLMM-Policy-Brief-Final-Published-on-GLMM-Website.pdf , GLMM Policy Brief No. 36/2026.
Excerpt from the Executive Summary: "Taken together, the findings suggest value in considering whether a more explicit managed complementarity model could improve the coordination of Saudization, capability development, and selective access to international expertise.
This does not imply that such complementarity is currently absent: firms and labor market institutions already adjust organically or on a case-by-case basis, while Saudization remains the principal instrument for expanding national opportunity and flexibility is applied where Saudi capabilities are not yet available at the required occupation, specialization, or seniority level.
The central question is whether these decentralized adjustments will be sufficient to meet the pace and complexity of emerging demand.
A more structured approach could preserve Saudization as the foundation of national capability development while using evidence on scarcity and experience to identify areas where selective migration, retention, and workplace knowledge exchange may provide complementary value. This would connect migration policy more closely to the Kingdom’s human capital strategy, allowing expatriate expertise to address clearly identified capability gaps while Saudi professionals accumulate the experience required for increasingly complex technical and leadership roles."
The Author: Dr. Mehmet Ali Soytas is a labor economist and policy researcher specializing in labor markets, human capital, economic modeling, skills, and productivity. He is a Senior Advisor for Labor Markets and Research at Saudi Arabia’s National Labor Observatory, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Gulf Labour Markets, Migration and Population programme of the Gulf Research Center, and a member of the Digital Cooperation Organization’s Global Expert Community. His research and publications span labor market transformation in and the Gulf, human capital transmission, intergenerational income mobility, employment mobility, skills demand, and labor market forecasting. He has published extensively in academic journals and contributed to policy studies for the World Bank and other international and regional institutions.
He has held research and academic positions at KFUPM, KAPSARC, Özyeğin University, the World Bank, and the Central Bank of Türkiye, and has taught economics in executive MBA programs at KFUPM and King Saud University.
GLMM’s Mission: An international independent, non-partisan, non-profit programme hosted and supported by the Gulf Research Center. The programme provides data, analyses, and recommendations contributing to the improvement of understanding and management of Gulf labour migration, population, and labour markets, engaging with and respecting the viewpoints of all stakeholders.
