Saudi Arabia is using artificial intelligence to make hiring faster, verify worker skills and strengthen workforce compliance.
Takamol is placing AI tools directly into labour market processes. The aim is to help businesses recruit more efficiently while supporting Saudi employment targets.
Speaking on the sidelines of LEAP 2026 in Riyadh, Dr. Saud Almandil, chief information and digitalisation officer at Takamol, outlined how the organisation is applying AI across hiring, skills testing and employment services.
AI brings labour checks into hiring
Takamol uses AI to review more than 300,000 job-role requests each month, according to Almandil.
The system checks each request against the establishment’s licensed business activity. This allows companies to identify potential compliance issues during the hiring process.
Almandil said the organisation is embedding AI directly into labour market transactions rather than using it only for reporting.
The platform also supports employment contracts. Its contract assistant reviews more than 750,000 contracts each month.
Employers can add up to 25 clauses to a contract. The system flags clauses that may conflict with regulations and explains the issue as the employer creates the contract.
As a result, businesses can address some compliance questions without waiting for specialist advice.
Takamol uses AI to verify worker skills
Takamol is also using technology to verify the skills and identities of overseas workers before they enter Saudi Arabia.
The organisation operates more than 200 examination centres across over 160 countries. These centres conduct skills tests for workers before they arrive in the Kingdom.
Computer vision and neural networks can complete identity checks within seconds. Meanwhile, video analytics help monitor more than 100,000 assessment sessions each month.
This approach aims to give employers greater confidence in workers’ qualifications and skills.
“Verification governs capability; Saudization governs composition,” Almandil said. “What links them is authenticity — and that’s where the AI sits.”
AI targets fictitious Saudisation
Takamol is also using analytics to identify cases of fictitious localisation.
In such cases, Saudi nationals may appear on a company’s payroll without actually working at the establishment. Firms can use this practice to artificially increase their Saudisation rate.
Takamol’s analytics look for signs of this activity.
The approach links workforce technology with Saudi Arabia’s wider employment goals. It also focuses on whether reported employment reflects genuine jobs.
“Same principle on both sides: verifying authenticity, not counting heads,” Almandil said.
Smart matching connects Saudis with jobs
Takamol is also applying AI to help Saudi jobseekers find suitable roles.
Its digital tools can extract education, experience and skills from CVs. Recommendation models then use information from a jobseeker’s profile and behaviour to suggest vacancies.
The changes have reduced the need for some applicants to enter the same information manually.
According to Almandil, 30 percent of applicants no longer had to re-enter details already included in their CV within three months. Engagement with vacancies also increased 2.7 times.
However, Takamol’s approach goes beyond job matching.
“Two things have to work: the matching, and the barrier to participation,” Almandil said.
Childcare and inclusion support workforce participation
Takamol is also addressing practical barriers that can prevent people from taking up jobs.
Its Qurrah programme provides workplace childcare through more than 16 branches. Meanwhile, Mowaamah certifies employers on workplace inclusion.
These services complement Takamol’s digital hiring tools.
Together, the initiatives show how workforce technology can extend beyond recruitment. They can also support participation, compliance and access to employment.
For Saudi businesses, the wider shift means more employment processes are moving into digital systems. For jobseekers and employers, the focus is increasingly on matching skills with genuine opportunities while keeping hiring compliant with labour rules.
