"Al-Eqtisadiah from Riyadh"

Monday, July 13, 2026 18:15 | 2-minute read

Ceer National Automotive Company, the first Saudi electric vehicle company and brand, today celebrated the graduation of a group of its Saudi engineers who were sent on scholarships from the industrial sector under the 'Waed' track of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program. The ceremony was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources under the patronage of Minister of Energy and Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and attended by Minister of Education Yousef Al-Benyan, along with several government officials and representatives of participating companies.

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Supporting Innovation and Growth of the Saudi Automotive Industry

The ceremony honored 69 male and female graduates who completed the job-embedded scholarship programs, including 40 engineers from Ceer. The ceremony also highlighted the pivotal role played by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in creating a supportive environment for innovation and growth in the Saudi automotive industry.

Ceer was also honored for its role as a national partner in implementing specialized programs aimed at qualifying national talents in promising industrial and technical fields, and empowering them to make an impact in the future.

The ceremony also witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between Ceer and JVIS to enhance the recruitment and empowerment of national talents, building on existing collaboration between the two parties to support the growth of the automotive industry and boost local content.

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Aligning Educational Outputs with Labor Market Needs

For his part, Ceer CEO James DeLuca stated: 'We at Ceer are proud to celebrate the achievements of Waed track graduates. This distinguished group represents the next generation of national talents who will lead the automotive industry landscape in Saudi Arabia. Today, they are in a position to contribute to building the first Saudi electric vehicle brand through their direct transition to permanent positions within our team. We also extend our sincere thanks to our partners in government agencies for their continuous support, which has helped transform the program into a real platform for launching promising career paths.'

Waed is one of the specialized tracks that enhance alignment between educational outputs and labor market needs, and it is an extension of the strategic partnership between the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Education, and the private sector to prepare qualified national cadres with the skills and knowledge necessary to keep pace with industrial transformations and achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. The track includes Ceer hiring 40 distinguished national engineers over the past year and giving them the opportunity to undergo a one-year academic education program, which included six months at Kettering University in Michigan, USA, followed by six months of practical training with several leading global manufacturers of cars and their core components.

The graduation of the first batch of Waed track students at Ceer represents an important milestone in their professional journey, as they will start working at Ceer. This initiative is one of the key steps supporting Ceer's commitment to building an integrated national automotive sector in the Kingdom, by empowering national cadres capable of leading the automotive industry in the Kingdom in the future.

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