Riyadh, (IANS) : Saudi Arabia proposes to create 1.2 million jobs for locals in an effort to end domination of foreign workers in crucial occupations, local media reported on Monday.

The goal of the Saudi Labour Ministry’s programme is to cut unemployment among Saudi citizens and to ease the high demand for foreigners in important jobs in all sectors, Al Hayat reported.

This will be done through a nationwide programme of training and other initiatives, the newspaper said.

The ministry will restrict access to some jobs to only Saudis, especially in the business sector, such as those related to production, maintenance and manufacturing.

The ministry has recruited more than 16,000 Saudi men and women in jobs related to selling and repairing mobile phones.

In January, Saudi Arabia announced that 120 local engineers were sent to Britain for training.