Saudi Arabia needs to invest in leadership training in order to support sustained growth, the EM Leadership Center's Tommy Weir has claimed.

The managing director of the Lebanon-based training provider told Zawya that while Saudi Arabia has been able to benefit from unprecedented growth even as neighbouring states suffered under the weight of a global recession, investment is needed to ensure that growth is sustained.

He warned: "The kingdom is experiencing one of the largest youth bulges in the world and what this means is that unemployment is going to escalate if Saudi Arabia does not tackle the shortage of Saudi leaders in the private sector."

Mr Weir added that Saudi Arabia needs to learn the lessons of other Gulf Cooperation Council which have experienced the consequences of relying on foreign labour in order to support growth.

The EM Leadership Center has also recently urged chief executives in Saudi Arabia to make five critical shifts in the global marketplace to ensure that their organisations maintain their competitive edge during the downturn.

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