His Excellency the President of King Khalid University, Prof. Faleh bin Rajaa Al-Sulami, attended on Tuesday 23^rd of August, “a Professional Certificates Workshop", which was organized by the University's Agency for Educational and Academic Affairs and represented by the Student Training and Exchange Unit. The workshop included the participation of a number of specialists, in attempt to enhance the student's skills.

The University Vice President of Educational and Academic Affairs, Prof. Saad bin Muhammad bin Dajam, explained that this workshop was conducted to accommodate the University Affairs Council's decision to adopt professional certificates for all specializations in universities. It is noteworthy that these certificates align with vision 2030 and the national programs associated with it which seek to develop Saudi citizens' capabilities to become globally competitive citizens.

Ibn Dajam, stressed that this workshop aims to introduce the professional certificate program and its importance in the labour market, and the university’s plans in this direction. Moreover, these plans include required courses in all academic programs (Tamheen) which meet the University Affairs Council's goals, to educate students on the labour market needs and prepare them for a number of professional certificates, as well as standardized tests.

The supervisor of the Training and Student Exchange Unit and the workshop supervisor Dr. Mona Al-Shehri said that “We at King Khalid University have had successful experiences over the past years in applying professional certificates in several specializations. She added that training and preparing for professional certificate exams is limited to top students and that in the future the university plans to expand the adoption of these certificates to all diploma and bachelor students.

During the workshop, the Vice Dean of the Applied College Dr. Ali bin Muhammad Al-Qahtani, discussed the criteria for selecting professional certificates, the types, and the steps to include the requirements of the professional certificate. He also discussed the Applied College experience in including professional certificates in its programs and measuring the indicators of professional certificates' performance.

Prof. Marei' Al-Habbash talked about the most prominent professional certificates in business specializations and their importance in the labour market. He also mentioned the challenges and proposed solutions, to include in the courses. He offered suggestions to enhance the Ministry of Education's decision.

The IT assistant professor at the Saudi Electronic University, Dr. Ali Abu Abed, presented a paper on international professional certificates and the Saudi labour market, their importance in the Kingdom, and the Professional Certificate Support Program (Hadaf). He also discussed the role of international professional certificates in enhancing competitiveness in the Saudi labour market, and the role of universities in expanding international professional certificates.

It is worth mentioning that the workshop included discussions on the future of professional certificates in the university and their application.