Riyadh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Turki bin Abdulmohsen Al Al-Sheikh has launched the "Makers of Happiness" initiative.

The launching ceremony was held by GEA in the presence of the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed bin Suleiman Al-Rajhi; the Governor of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) Dr. Ahmed Al-Fuhaid and the Ambassador of the Republic of France to the Kingdom Ludovic Pouille.

To mark the occasion, GEA Chairman confirmed that the "Happiness Makers" initiative aims to qualify and train human cadres specialized in the entertainment sector and to enable young Saudi talents to fill specialized jobs in the sector, as part of its strategy that focuses on developing and qualifying the national cadres.

He also said that the Authority has been working on providing various training, qualification and educational programs to enhance the sustainability of the entertainment sector industry in the Kingdom, through national cadres specialized in organizing and managing events and recreational activities with all its important specialties to activate the sector.

The launching ceremony of the initiative witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the GEA Chairman and the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. The MoU aims at developing programs and initiatives to develop human capital between the Ministry and the Authority.

Al-Sheikh also patronized the signing of a number of memoranda of understanding with the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf), aiming at studying training needs and supporting employment in the entertainment sector, and a third memorandum of understanding on training and developing human cadres between GEA and TVTC.

GEA and Al Hokair Group for Tourism and Development also signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at cooperating to develop educational programs that end with employment.

In memoranda dealing with the same subject, the Executive Vice President for GEA Human Capital Development, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Shehri signed several memoranda with each of the Saudi Entertainment Ventures Company (SEVEN), represented by Chief Operating Officer Assem bin Othman Al-Jubeir and Senior Director of the Talent Development Department at Red Sea Development Company Zaher Felemban, separately.

The initiative will support more than 100,000 young Saudi men and women to engage in work in the entertainment sector in the Kingdom, qualified with various training courses and specialized diplomas that are of paramount importance in the entertainment sector, starting from crowd management; the management of entertainment centers; maintenance and public safety in entertainment centers; organizing and marketing events; fellowship programs that would transfer knowledge and the scholarship program with its first phase began in cooperation with Qiddiya Investment Company, as 60 male and female students were enrolled in the University of Central Florida to the Entertainment Leaders Program which will qualify a group of executive leaders in the sector in cooperation with the best universities specialized in leadership development and leading international companies in the entertainment sector.

Source: Saudi Press Agency