A Total Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System for Enhanced Vocational Education Management in Saudi Arabia

Introduction

The economy of Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly robust and stable, but one cannot deny its high dependencies on oil and foreign workforce (Al-Turki, 2011). In late 2015, Saudi Arabia's economy encountered significant fiscal challenges primarily caused by the decline in oil prices (Saudi Fiscal Balance Program Balanced Budget, 2018). Oil production accounted for 87% of the country's total revenue. It was anticipated that the country would fall into a chronic fiscal imbalance if the government did not instigate urgent fiscal reforms (Alsweilem, 2015). Consequently, the government introduced a fiscal program with the primary objective of achieving a balance by 2020 by diversifying revenue sources. Expatriate dependent tax and value-added tax (VAT) were introduced as part of the government fiscal reforms (Alsweilem, 2015; Maceda, 2017). The introduction of taxes as a means to increase non-oil revenue has caused a financial burden on the private sector which was highly dependent on expatriate (expat) workers accounting for 75% of the Saudi labour market (Labor market statistics Q4 2020, 2020). These government measures have adversely affected the cost of living for many expatriates who, for decades, had enjoyed tax-free salaries. As a result, it was reported that an estimated 2.5 million expatriates would leave Saudi Arabia (Maceda, 2017). This implies that there should be sufficient skilled indigenous Saudi labour readily available to enter the job market and take up the responsibilities once held by expats.