GAP Analysis in Expectations of Industry-Institute from Professional Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, education sector is at boom. According to 2013 budget report (SAMA), 33% revenue has been spent on education sector and it is growing every year. However (according to IMF) it is really shocking to know that the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia is still around 10%. It is observed that there is a mismatch in the expectations of labor market and the outcome of professional education. It is the responsibility of educational institution to ensure that the student graduating must possess the employability skills as required by the labor market. For this, there is a need to map employability skills in the curriculum. This paper tries to understand the view of Industry-Institute on current professional education in Saudi Arabia. The research involves a literature review and an Ex-post-facto research is undertaken. Questionnaire and interview are used as research instrument to collect the data from industry-institute people working at managerial level. The research helps to determine the important skill sets for increasing the performance of professional education. The finding also disclose that there is a gap between the industry-institute expectations and suggest some guidelines for better collaboration for curriculum planning, design, implementation and monitoring. The purpose of this paper is to engage all concerned in a serious discussion with a view to revamping professional education. It is the combined responsibility of Government, public & private sector and educators to put professional education on a new growth trajectory.