Saudi update / annual training disclosure
Qiwa training disclosure: what your team needs to report
For establishments with 50 or more workers, this is an annual return about training. HR and finance need to account for what took place, what it cost and the plans for the following year.
01 / Check coverage first
Who must file the annual return?
- 50 or more workers: HRSD’s guide uses the annual average, not only today’s headcount.
- Below 50: disclosure is voluntary under the guide.
- No training delivered: covered establishments must still disclose that. Other training duties remain.
02 / Separate the three rules
Filing the return and training people are separate duties
Existing Saudi employees
- Article 43 and the 2025 regulations refer the training proportion and mechanism to ministerial decision.
- Confirm the decision applicable to your business before calculating the target. The separate graduate/jobseeker quota does not establish the employee-training rate.
Saudi graduates and jobseekers
- Decision 116264, effective 18 April 2026: establishments with 50+ workers must offer on-the-job training and train at least 2% of the total workforce during the year.
- Denominator: Saudi and non-Saudi full-time workers, or their equivalent.
- 5,000+ workers: the guide sets the statutory annual minimum at 100 trainees.
Student co-operative training has separate rules. Check each programme and any permitted overlap; do not assume one course satisfies all quotas.
03 / Arrange the training properly
Before booking training
- Choose the skill and people: match the programme to their work.
- Choose a recognised route: an accredited trainer within the business, an accredited external trainer, or an accredited centre/institute. An outside company is not compulsory in every case.
- Check approval: verify trainer accreditation or the centre’s licence and relevant programme approval.
- For private training under TVTC: use its provider and programme enquiry service ↗. “International certificate” alone does not establish local approval.
- Agree delivery: content, dates, hours, delivery method, practical work and assessment.
- Collect evidence: participant list, attendance/completion records, results, certificates and invoice. Retain trainer accreditation for internal delivery too.
For graduate/jobseeker placements
- Document the training contract, plan, duties and stages.
- Provide appropriate equipment and real work for learning the role.
- Appoint a supervisor to assess progress; keep each trainee’s file and issue the completion certificate.
These are workplace placements, not an obligation settled simply by buying a short course. The accreditation routes follow the 2025 regulations; booking checks are DuVolks suggestions.
04 / Give HR and finance the same brief
Report what happened and what is planned
Actual training
- Completed trainee numbers, split by category and Saudi/non-Saudi status.
- Training types and average worker training hours.
- Total costs and training-budget share of workers’ wages.
Next-year plans
- Expected trainee numbers by category and nationality.
- Planned activities and total budget.
- Planned training-budget share of workers’ wages.
- Separate trainee categories: employees, students, graduates and Saudi jobseekers. Confirm the reporting year and fields in Qiwa.
- Include supported costs: provider/trainer fees, relevant internal staff time, trainee allowances and training overheads. Finance should retain each calculation; keep actuals separate from next-year estimates.
- Record employee training within 30 days: the 2025 regulations require programme, type, duration, provider and delivery method on the Ministry-designated platform. Do not wait for the annual return.
05 / Hours and training units
Eight training units does not always mean eight hours
The guide sets at least eight reportable units per trainee annually. The conversion depends on the activity:
| Training activity | One training unit |
|---|---|
| Course, workshop, lecture or seminar | 2 hours |
| E-learning | 4 hours |
| On-the-job training or job rotation | 2½ working days |
- A two-hour workshop equals one unit, not two. Use the relevant conversion and Qiwa fields.
- The full guide also covers employer-funded study and career guidance. Eight reporting units is not a blanket eight-hour course for every employee.
06 / Build the return from records
Prepare, check and submit
Confirm coverage and ownership
Check the annual worker count, reporting period and Qiwa access. Name the person submitting and the person approving the figures.
Complete the working file
Collect programme dates, participant categories, attendance/completion evidence, hours and cost calculations. Ask managers to resolve gaps; an invoice alone does not prove attendance.
Reconcile HR and finance
Check participants and activities against costs, budgets and wage figures. Apply unit conversions and separate next-year plans. Report no training where appropriate.
Submit by 31 January 2027
Review the current Qiwa fields, submit and retain evidence. Raise unclear service or reporting-period issues with Qiwa before the deadline.
This preparation sequence is DuVolks guidance. Follow the current Qiwa service instructions and fields.
Sources and scope
The current deadline and no-training disclosure follow HRSD’s 2 November 2026 announcement. The annual-average threshold, delivered/planned data and unit conversions come from its procedural guide. Use the current Qiwa return for the reporting period and submission fields.
Read the official material
DuVolks / practical support
Talk about your Qiwa disclosure
If your team needs support preparing the Qiwa disclosure, we can help bring the training records together and work through the administrative steps.