SAIFI
1. Background
The Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development took an initiative to enhance the skills and the experience of Saudi youth during the summer months. This would, in turn, help them enter the labor market more effectively after graduation and allow them to become more productive more quickly.
2. Client Requirements
The client wanted to develop a new online portal as a summer training program for Saudi students that allows students to register, check and apply for available training opportunities at different companies and training institutions.
3. The Challenges
Because the portal needed to be active by summer of that year, a three month deadline was a particularly challenging feature of this project. Also, the portal had to be designed to connect multiple entities. It had to link between companies that offered opportunities, training centers that were assigned to train students, the students who applied, and mentors who would follow up. There were also certain security issues and considerations due to Saudi rules and regulations regarding data accessibility.
4. The Solutions
The project was delivered in three milestones. The first included: a landing page, a registration system for all stakeholders, a ticketing system and a means of allowing companies and training institutes to post opportunities and training programs. The second milestone allowed students to check for available opportunities and apply for them, it also allowed employers to search for students and invite them. The third milestone included the attendance system, the communication system, and feedback and reports. Later, eSpace worked on enhancing the first version of SAIFI and adding important or useful new features to it.
5. The Outcome
SAIFI became the first summer training program used by thousands of Saudi students that was easy to use and that facilitated the process of matchmaking between companies, training centers that offered opportunities, and aspiring students who were keen to develop themselves and advance their skills.
