THE FRENCH EXCELLENCE

DEDICATED TO ALULA

TRAINING:

Focus

Whether in hotels, services, agriculture or archaeology,

around 38,000 new jobs, including 15,000 in the tourism sector,

will be created by 2035, to make AlUla an exceptional cultural

and touristic destination, but also

a unique place for training.

To ensure that locals are involved

in this transformation in a sustainable and inclusive way,

AFALULA, through its Human Capital division,

and in close cooperation with the RCU, is helping them

to develop their skills and employability.

Whether in hotels, services, agriculture or archaeology,

around 38,000 new jobs,

including 15,000 in the tourism sector, will be created by 2035,

to make AlUla an exceptional cultural and touristic destination, but also a unique place

for training.

To ensure that locals

are involved in this

transformation in a sustainable

and inclusive way, AFALULA, through its Human Capital

division, and in close cooperation with the RCU, is helping them

to develop their skills

and employability.

Guilhem Constans,

Head of Human Capital at AFALULA, talks about the missions

and challenges of this strategic division with regard

to this destination’s future.

Guilhem Constans,

Head of Human Capital at AFALULA,

talks about the missions and challenges

of this strategic division with regard

to this destination’s future.

“ The sustainable development of the AlUla tourist destination is based on the inclusion of the local population. ”

Guilhem Constans,

Head of Human Capital at AFALULA

The courses cover a wide range of fields, such as tourism, hotel management and culinary arts, as well as trades in heritage, culture and creative industries, the equestrian sector, agribusiness and even perfumery. The aim is to establish long-term training courses to anchor French excellence in AlUla’s culture and to raise their profile within the Kingdom and beyond its borders.

The Human Capital division, which is generalist and cross-disciplinary in nature, coordinates and runs the training programmes in partnership with the finest French institutions.

Every single development project is designed in close collaboration with the Agency’s various centres of expertise and their counterparts at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) to make sure that the training content is relevant and of the highest quality.

Afalula AlUla Centre des Monuments Nationaux Azay Le Rideau

As AlUla’s development is taking place with and for the local population, the Human Capital division is facing major challenges in developing skills and qualifications. The aim is not only to meet immediate training needs, but also to design long-term programmes to make AlUla a recognised academic and educational centre of excellence.

To meet high educational needs, particularly in the fields of tourism, hotel management, culinary arts, cultural mediation, etc., the Human Capital division has worked closely with French research and training institutions that have a proven reputation for excellence. Through its partnerships with carefully selected institutions, the Agency aims to create a top training hub, attracting students from all over the Kingdom and beyond.

To train AlUla’s future tour guides, AFALULA is working with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (CMN). In 2022, 15 AlUla guides were trained in France by the CMN, combining theory with work experience at prestigious sites such as the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and Azay-le-Rideau in the Loire Valley.

In the equestrian field, where there are many projects, the Human Capital division worked with the Equestrian Projects department to identify its needs. Partnerships were then formed with the École des Courses Hippiques (AFASEC) to train future grooms, and with the Compagnons du Devoir to introduce the men and women of AlUla to the blacksmith trade.

AN ISSUE OF EMPLOYABILITY FOR LOCAL POPULATION

AN ISSUE OF EMPLOYABILITY

FOR LOCAL POPULATION

Meet Mohammed Alanazi,

a student of the Scholarship Program, who was able

to benefit from an end-of-study internship at INRAE CIRAD in Corsica.

Meet Mohammed Alanazi,

a student of the Scholarship Program,

who was able to benefit from an end-of-study internship at INRAE CIRAD in Corsica.

The Agency has identified student mobility as another way of strengthening the skills of local populations. The Scholarship Program, initiated by the RCU, enables young grant-holders from the region to pursue their studies abroad, as well as providing them with intensive language courses before they leave.

The mobility program is run by Campus France, while the Agency and its network of partners support the program by finding relevant work placements for the students as part of AlUla’s development, while at the same time promoting their employability.

To encourage international students to come to AlUla, the Human Capital division have also developed a trial project targeting an Arabic-speaking public. The idea is to offer a month-long intensive language course while they discover AlUla. A particularly promising first session took place in 2022, and the program is set to be progressively expanded to include as many people as possible. The program also allows French and Saudi students to discuss and exchange ideas.

MOBILITY

TO EXPAND

SKILL SETS

One of the goals of the RCU and AFALULA is to make AlUla a world-class centre to learn Arabic. The Royal Commission has created the AlUla Languages Institute (ULI) to teach foreign languages, but also Arabic and Nabataean. Last summer, the Institute welcomed ten French students for advanced training as part of a trial project designed with the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco).

The program included Arabic lessons in the morning and internships placements in the afternoon in various departments of the RCU. The program was a great success, and will subsequently be extended to welcome a larger number of students from other universities and other countries.