Construction Middle East: Arabian Civil Engineers by GineersNow GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 014, Sau | Page 43

We also have a program, called
“Contractors of The Future”, where we
fund young unemployed Saudis and
turn them from being job seekers to
becoming job creators. We train them
on how to operate our machinery and
trucks, and then we help them by
arranging subcontracts with our major
customers. This program is 4 years
old and is very successful with no
defaults. It has grown to more than
SAR 150 Million a year in transactions
c. When did the company start?
Zahid has been socially responsible
for more than a century, though the
programs and initiatives vary, such as
Amira Family Park and Faisal Zahid
Sports Park, both in the poorest area
of Jeddah and were done jointly with
Friends of Jeddah Parks and the local
communities.
We have just marked the milestone of
25 years anniversary since we
founded Jeddah Institute for Speech
and Hearing (JISH). 4 years ago, we
were one of 6 founders of Qaderoon
Business Disability Network, which
aims at including persons with
disabilities in the work force. This was
established in association with the
Ministry of Labor & Social
Development and the Human
Resources Development Fund.
d. Who pioneered the CSR initiative?
Which organizations or individuals do
you support? Do you have a
partnership with other non- profit
organizations, government,
international agencies or schools?
Yes, we work closely with other
NGOs, NPOs, and charities as well as
the chambers of commerce in order
that we work in tandem to achieve our
common goal of helping our country
and citizens.
As I said, there were many CSR
initiatives that were underway, but
were a bit fragmented. In the last 10
years or so, we started developing our
CSR strategy to focus on the youth,
persons with disability, women, and
localization of technology, best
practices and jobs so our nationals
can benefit to the maximum. How do you make your CSR
initiatives successful?
Do you support economic, political,
educational, and environmental
causes? I will mention only Qaderoon here -
when in 4 years, we have been able to
include more than 2,000 persons with
disabilities in the workforce of our
member companies.
All our initiatives are geared to help
the community and the environment.
Through our Zahid Learning Institutes,
we plan to continue on growing our
technical and vocational trainings,
working to turn our Saudi
Communities into a knowledge-based
society.
For initiatives to succeed, you need
champions to take ownership of them.
In that, we have succeeded to achieve
our goals.
What are the social impacts of your
CSR initiatives?
What are your future CSR initiatives?
Shhhh ... it is a secret! Just joking.
I think we will continue to stick to our
successful CSR initiatives but we will
refine them as we learn the best
practice locally or globally.
TRIVIA
A chance meeting between
our then Chairman, the late
Sheikh Yousuf M Zahid, and
a Caterpillar salesman and
engineer, at the Jeddah
airport in 1950, led to a
strong, thriving and lasting
partnership that continues
to this day.
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
ENGINEERS
I would advise the young men and
women of this aspiring generation to
focus on 3 things:
(1) improve yourself in every way by
expanding your horizon and
knowledge in various topics
and not just the subject or industry
you are interested in
(2) eat healthy, exercise and see the
world
(3) each one of you has a circle of
influence, and as they say sharing is
caring, together you and your circle
will grow in knowledge, as well as
open many windows of opportunity.
Construction Leaders • April 2017
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