Saudi contractors, maintenance firms and engineering offices have six months to add Saudi technicians. On Sunday 8 November 2026, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) and the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing announced that the Saudization rate for 94 technical engineering professions in the private sector rises to 35%, starting 9 May 2027.
The current rate is 30%, in force since July 2025. The new decision applies to every private establishment with five or more workers in the targeted professions, counted at the level of the establishment entity, according to the ministry's announcement.
Key Highlights
- The rate rises from 30% to 35% of workers in the targeted technical engineering professions.
- Effective 9 May 2027, six months after the announcement.
- Scope: five or more workers in the targeted professions, counted per establishment entity.
- 94 professions are targeted, including civil, electrical, mechanical and electronic engineering technicians, surveyors, mechanical maintenance technicians and architectural draughtsmen, as classified in the Saudi Unified Classification of Occupations.
- A new procedural guide on the HRSD website sets out the professions, the calculation and the compliance rules.
- Support programmes cover recruitment, training, qualification, employment and retention, with priority access to Saudization support schemes.
How the Rate Is Counted Today
The 2026 procedural guide was not yet downloadable from the HRSD site when we checked on 9 November. The rules below come from the 2025 guide that set the 30% rate, and are likely to carry over, but check the new guide before acting on them.
Only accredited, properly paid Saudis count. A Saudi technician counts only with professional accreditation from the Saudi Council of Engineers, and only if the wage registered with GOSI is at least SAR 5,000 a month. A Saudi technician paid less, or without accreditation, does not count toward the rate.
The registered title and the real job both matter. The 2025 guide applies the decision to the occupational title and to the work actually done. Assigning targeted tasks to a non-Saudi under another job title is treated as a breach.
The gap is computed and rounded to the nearest whole number. The 2025 guide's worked example: an establishment with 51 technicians, 4 of them Saudi, needs 51 x 30% = 15.3 Saudi technicians, so 11.3 more, rounded to 11 additional hires. At 35%, the same establishment needs 17.85, so 13.85 more, which rounds to 14, assuming the rounding rule is unchanged.
The higher rate wins. Where a technical engineering profession is also targeted by another localization decision with a different rate, the 2025 guide applies the higher one.
This is not Nitaqat. The occupational decision runs in parallel to Nitaqat and applies whatever the establishment's band. Our Nitaqat calculator shows where the entity-wide rate lands; the profession quota has to be checked separately, and a Saudization certificate refused in Qiwa is often the first place a breach shows up.
Impact on Employers
Six months is enough for a hiring cycle, but only if the gap is known now:
- Export registered occupations from Qiwa and match them against the 94 codes in the new guide.
- Check every Saudi technician's accreditation and GOSI wage. A Saudi below SAR 5,000, or without accreditation, adds to the denominator and not to the numerator.
- Model hires both ways. Replacing a non-Saudi raises only the numerator; a net new Saudi hire raises both. Hiring Saudis on paper only is penalised separately, as covered in our piece on phantom Saudization penalties.
- Plan accreditation lead time. New Saudi hires need Saudi Council of Engineers accreditation before they count.
Penalties follow the ministry's schedule for localization breaches, set by Ministerial Decision 75913 of 19/05/1445 AH and Ministerial Decision 44558 of 03/04/1446 AH, as cited in the 2025 guide.
Background
This is the second step for engineering technicians after the 30% rate announced in January 2025. Engineers themselves fall under a separate HRSD decision. Other recent occupational rulings include project management at 70% from February 2027, accounting at 50% in its second phase and sports centres and gyms at 15%.
What's Next
The new procedural guide is the operative document. Teams that track several profession quotas at once can follow our Nitaqat and Saudization engine in TypeScript, or connect their HR system to Qiwa so the count is checked before each hire. If you want that built for your company, contact us.
Source: HRSD, 8 November 2026 · HRSD, 26 January 2025 · HRSD procedural guide, 2025