Ericsson to scale up graduate hiring, internships in Saudi Arabia, senior official reveals
In an interview on the sidelines of the inauguration of the company's regional headquarters in Riyadh, Patrick Johansson, president and head of market area Europe, Middle East and Africa at Ericsson, said the Swedish firm is deepening its collaboration with Saudi universities and expanding hands-on training opportunities.
The Swedish company officially unveiled its new office in the presence of Haytham Al-Ohali, vice minister at Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Abdullah Al-Dubaikhi, assistant minister at the Ministry of Investment, and Petra Menander, Swedish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
This move aligns with Saudi Arabia's Regional Headquarters Program, which aims to attract multinational companies to establish their Middle East and North Africa bases in the Kingdom by offering tax incentives, regulatory support, and preferential government contracting.
Global firms such as PepsiCo, Siemens, and Unilever have already set up offices in Riyadh, supporting the Vision 2030 goal of making Saudi Arabia a regional hub for innovation and decision-making.
Reflecting on Ericsson's goal to develop a local workforce, Johansson said: 'The joint collaboration with universities and bringing on new graduate students and training them on the ground has been part from the very beginning.'
He added: 'Now we're expanding that even greater while having the regional headquarters here, so it is about bringing even broader numbers of students doing internships.'
Emphasizing collaboration, talent development, and fifth-generation network leadership, Ericsson highlighted the importance of cross-sector partnerships and technological progress in building an inclusive digital infrastructure for Saudi Arabia and the broader region.
As part of its long-term commitment to local talent development, Ericsson has been running the Gen-E graduate program at the 5G Innovation Hub in Riyadh since 2018.
The initiative has trained more than 190 Saudi graduates from both local and international universities, with women making up 50 percent of the participants.
The program includes technical workshops and hands-on training in Ericsson's tools and methodologies, led by subject matter experts and the company's Saudi leadership.
It has contributed to the development of a range of 5G and Internet of Things applications in areas such as robotics, edge computing, and mixed reality — aligning with the Kingdom's broader digital transformation agenda.
Ericsson is scaling up its talent development efforts, which now include broader engagement with students across the region.
'It is about bringing even broader numbers of students doing internships, but also the graduate programs as part of the activities here in Saudi Arabia,' Johansson said.
He noted that Saudi Arabia's rapid digital evolution under Vision 2030 is providing fertile ground for innovation and cross-sector collaboration, saying it has taken 'an exponential leap.
The Ericsson official added: 'And of course, we're leveraging our technology… also working across with academia, and then also into new areas, which is part of the vision.'
The company's partnerships with major Saudi telecom operators remain central to its operations. 'We're working mainly with the two big operators — with stc and with Mobily — and again, it is about providing the connectivity that builds beyond.'
He also highlighted that the move to establish its base in the Kingdom was a 'very simple choice to make.'
Johansson pointed to new initiatives extending beyond traditional connectivity. 'It's also about introducing new ways of having technology for good,' he said, referring to the Connected Recycling platform project launched with stc's IoT subsidiary in February, aimed at improving the efficiency and impact of recycling through digital tools.
Looking ahead, he stressed the importance of ecosystem-driven progress, stating: 'We put the foundation here by opening our real headquarters, but then it's what we do and achieve together … because it is all about the ecosystem.'
The inauguration event included discussions on the evolution of network technologies, the roadmap to sixth-generation connectivity, and the role of Vision 2030 in guiding long-term innovation strategies, according to a press release.
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