Saudi Arabia is building at an extraordinary pace. From sprawling tourism destinations and luxury hotels to advanced healthcare facilities, transport hubs and integrated urban communities, the Kingdom's rapidly expanding built environment is creating unprecedented opportunities for the facilities management (FM) industry. Yet behind the architectural ambition lies an operational challenge that receives considerably less attention: who will maintain these assets, and will they possess the skills required to deliver consistently high standards? 

Every new development creates a long-term requirement for cleaning, hygiene, maintenance and operational support. While infrastructure can be delivered against construction schedules, workforce capability cannot be developed overnight. The industry must simultaneously recruit, train, retain and continuously upskill thousands of cleaning professionals across geographically dispersed and increasingly complex facilities. 

According to industry estimates cited by soft services consultant Mohamed Hazath, Saudi Arabia's FM market was valued at approximately USD 27–52 billion in 2025, depending on the services included. The Kingdom's expanding hospitality pipeline, which he estimates at more than 94,500 additional hotel rooms, further illustrates the scale of future operational requirements. 

However, the fundamental question extends beyond workforce numbers. It concerns whether Saudi Arabia can establish a sustainable training ecosystem that delivers technical competence, professional recognition and consistent service quality across its expanding FM landscape. 

Three industry professionals — Mohamed Hazath, Soft Services Consultant, Dussman Ajlan & Bros; Mania Kia, CEO, SaveFast Global/Etihad Pioneers; and Syed Ameenulla, Senior General Manager – Centre of Excellence, EFSIM Facilities Management Company — examine the challenges, opportunities and strategies shaping the future of cleaning workforce development in the Kingdom. 

A Workforce Challenge Beyond Recruitment 

The rapid expansion of Saudi Arabia's FM industry has intensified demand for cleaning professionals across hospitality, healthcare, commercial developments and public infrastructure. However, recruiting sufficient personnel represents only one dimension of the challenge. 

The greater difficulty lies in ensuring that employees possess the technical knowledge, practical competence and adaptability required to operate within increasingly sophisticated environments. 

Mohamed Hazath argues that the industry must reconsider how it defines workforce readiness. 

"Headcount is not the problem. Capability is. We can recruit. What we struggle to do is keep and develop." 

In many cleaning operations, employees receive brief induction programmes before being deployed to demanding environments. An operative may move from basic cleaning duties to a luxury hospitality setting or healthcare facility without receiving adequate task-specific preparation. 

Such practices create potential inconsistencies in service delivery, particularly where infection prevention, chemical handling, delicate surface care and guest interaction require specialised competencies. 

High employee turnover further complicates the situation. When experienced operatives leave, employers lose accumulated knowledge and must invest repeatedly in training replacements. 

For Mania Kia, the solution begins with recognising cleaning as a skilled profession rather than simply a labour-intensive service. 

"Cleaning professionals are at the heart of every facility’s performance. Their skill, judgement and care protect people, preserve assets and shape the experience of everyone who walks through its doors." 

This perspective is particularly relevant as Saudi Arabia positions itself as a global destination for tourism, business and investment. The quality of the visitor experience depends not only on impressive infrastructure but also on the people responsible for maintaining it. 

Moving Beyond Induction-Based Training 

Traditional cleaning training has frequently focused on basic induction, safety instructions and task demonstrations. While these remain essential, the complexity of modern facilities demands a more structured approach. 

Cleaning professionals must understand chemical dilution, equipment operation, infection prevention, colour coding, manual handling, surface compatibility and sustainable cleaning practices. Specialist environments require additional competencies, particularly in healthcare hygiene, food service, high-level cleaning and sensitive material maintenance. 

Training must therefore evolve from a one-off exercise into a continuous process of learning, assessment and improvement. 

Kia emphasises that certification alone cannot guarantee operational competence. 

"A certificate submitted with a tender tells a client little about what happens on the next shift." 

Her observation highlights an important distinction between documented qualifications and demonstrated capability. An employee may have completed a training programme but still struggle to apply the correct procedures under operational pressure. 

Structured competency assessments, practical demonstrations, supervisory observation and regular refresher sessions are essential to bridging this gap. 

The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc), for example, provides recognised training pathways through its Licence to Practice and Cleaning Professional's Skills Suite. Such frameworks can help employers establish consistent expectations across different job functions. 

However, their effectiveness ultimately depends on implementation, particularly whether employees receive sufficient opportunities to practise and demonstrate the skills they have acquired. 

Bringing Training Directly To The Workplace 

Saudi Arabia's geographical scale presents a distinctive challenge for FM training. Employees are deployed across major cities, remote developments, industrial facilities and emerging tourism destinations, making centralised training difficult to deliver consistently. 

For EFSIM Facilities Management Company, bringing training directly to operational sites has become an important strategy. 

Syed Ameenulla explains the value of practical, workplace-based learning. 

"While classroom learning provides the foundation, real competence is built at the workplace." 

At EFSIM, toolbox talks, mentoring, practical coaching and site demonstrations form part of the company's workforce development approach. Employees are trained within the environments where they perform their duties, enabling immediate application of new knowledge. 

The company has also introduced an initiative called Learning on Wheels, a mobile training concept designed to reach employees across different locations in Saudi Arabia. 

Rather than requiring geographically dispersed teams to attend centralised sessions, the programme takes learning resources directly to operational sites. 

Ameenulla highlights the initiative's operational benefits. 

"This approach enables consistent learning delivery, particularly for geographically dispersed locations, while minimizing operational disruption." 

EFSIM has additionally established a regional trainer network to support workforce development across the Kingdom. 

Such decentralised models offer a practical response to the challenge of scaling training while maintaining service continuity. 

Bridging Language And Communication Gaps 

Technical training is only effective when employees understand and can confidently apply what they are taught. 

Saudi Arabia's cleaning workforce includes professionals from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This diversity contributes valuable experience but also creates communication challenges, particularly when standard operating procedures are delivered exclusively in English. 

Hazath identifies language accessibility as a fundamental requirement for effective training. 

"An SOP written only in English is a document for the auditor, not for the person holding the mop." 

Multilingual training materials, visual instructions, demonstrations and practical assessments can improve understanding and reduce the risk of inconsistent procedures. 

Equally important is explaining the reasoning behind cleaning protocols rather than expecting employees to memorise instructions. 

For instance, understanding why specific disinfection procedures are necessary in healthcare settings can strengthen compliance and help operatives recognise potential risks. 

Training should also encourage two-way communication. Cleaning professionals frequently identify operational problems, unsafe practices and recurring service issues before they become visible through formal inspections. 

Creating opportunities for employees to share these observations can improve both training relevance and operational performance. 

Technology Is Redefining Cleaning Competencies 

As Saudi Arabia's FM industry adopts automation, digital monitoring and smart building technologies, cleaning roles are becoming increasingly technology-driven. 

Autonomous scrubber dryers, smart chemical dispensing systems, computer-aided facilities management platforms and occupancy-based cleaning schedules are transforming traditional workflows. 

Cleaning operatives may now be expected to use handheld devices, respond to digital work orders, record inspections and report maintenance issues through integrated platforms. 

Hazath believes this transformation demands greater recognition of the skills involved. 

"Technology does not eliminate the operative — it changes the job." 

Consequently, digital literacy must become part of workforce development, alongside traditional cleaning competencies. 

Employees need practical guidance on operating new equipment, interpreting digital instructions and understanding how technology supports productivity and service quality. 

Training programmes must also prepare supervisors to manage technology-enabled teams, analyse performance information and identify opportunities for improvement. 

Without corresponding investment in employee capability, technological adoption risks creating additional operational complexity rather than delivering its intended efficiencies. 

Making Training Everyone's Responsibility 

One of the most significant barriers to workforce development is the perception that training belongs exclusively to human resources or learning and development departments. 

In reality, operational managers, supervisors and technical specialists play an equally important role in transferring knowledge and reinforcing standards. 

EFSIM advocates a shared accountability model in which experienced professionals contribute directly to workforce development. 

Ameenulla explains the proposed approach. 

"At EFSIM, we advocate setting service level expectations for Facility Managers, Project Leaders, and Subject Matter Experts to contribute a minimum of one hour of structured training each month." 

This approach can help embed learning within everyday operations rather than treating it as an occasional activity. 

Internal subject matter experts can also share practical knowledge that may not be captured in formal training materials, particularly around site-specific challenges, customer expectations and operational problem-solving. 

International partnerships with organisations such as BICSc and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) can further support consistency by connecting local workforce development with recognised industry practices. 

Procurement Must Recognise The Cost Of Competence 

Even well-designed training programmes struggle to succeed when commercial contracts prioritise the lowest service price without accounting for workforce development. 

Training requires paid employee time, qualified instructors, suitable equipment, assessment resources and continuing supervision. 

When these costs are excluded from procurement decisions, service providers may face pressure to reduce training expenditure to protect operational margins. 

Kia argues that clients and project owners must play a more active role in establishing competency expectations. 

"Tender specifications should define competency requirements by role and risk, reference recognised standards such as BICSc, and require evidence of assessment and continuing adherence." 

Embedding measurable training requirements into contracts could encourage providers to invest more consistently in workforce capability. 

Such requirements should extend beyond mobilisation to include ongoing assessments, refresher training and documented corrective actions. 

Performance monitoring must also examine operational outcomes rather than simply counting training hours. 

Chemical dilution accuracy, adherence to procedures, repeat cleaning defects, customer complaints and the effectiveness of corrective actions can provide more meaningful indicators of training performance. 

Creating Career Pathways That Retain Talent 

Training alone will not resolve workforce challenges if cleaning professionals see limited opportunities for career progression. 

The sector must establish clearer pathways through which employees can advance from operative roles into specialist cleaning, team leadership, supervision, training and management. 

Recognised qualifications, structured competency frameworks and transparent progression criteria can help professionalise the workforce while improving retention. 

Hazath believes that linking competence with career development is essential. 

"What we still lack is the connective tissue: a common competency framework that links certification to grade, pay and progression, so a good operative can see a real path to team leader, then supervisor, then manager." 

Such pathways could also support the Kingdom's broader workforce development ambitions by creating opportunities for specialised expertise and professional growth. 

For employers, retaining trained employees offers operational advantages, including continuity, institutional knowledge and reduced recruitment and retraining requirements. 

Can Training Keep Pace? 

Saudi Arabia's FM expansion presents an opportunity to redefine how cleaning professionals are trained, assessed and valued. 

The necessary building blocks are emerging: internationally recognised qualifications, workplace coaching, mobile training delivery, regional trainer networks and growing awareness of competency-based service standards. 

However, scaling these initiatives will require coordinated action from FM providers, developers, clients, training institutions and industry associations. 

The priority must shift from training completion to demonstrable competence, from short-term recruitment to long-term retention, and from treating workforce development as an optional expense to recognising it as an essential operational investment. 

Ultimately, the Kingdom's cleaning workforce will determine how successfully its ambitious developments perform after construction and handover.