Towards an intelligent Holy City: assessing the current training needs for the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah

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Al Jahdali, K.D., 2021. Towards an intelligent Holy City: assessing the current training needs for the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

The Hajj represents the fifth pillar of Islam, and more than three million pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia every year to fulfil this obligation. Managing the Hajj effectively and ensuring the safety of the pilgrims is a complex process that requires highly specialised skills and expertise. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MHU) is responsible for Hajj planning. It is constantly striving to improve the services provided to pilgrims, notably by enhancing its crowd management capabilities. According to its Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia intends to increase its capacity to accommodate a larger number of Hajj pilgrims to increase income from non-oil products. As a result, the MHU is seeking to develop its employees' knowledge and skills and raise their capabilities in the field of technology and management of large crowds.

Therefore, this research aims to assess the current training needs in the MHU, identify current challenges, skills and knowledge gaps, and develop a training needs analysis (TNA) framework to support the strategic development of up-skilling of employees. A mixed approach of using literature review, questionaries, and interviews is utilised with qualitative and quantitative analysis methods to achieve these aims. The use of more than one method of collecting data was implemented to achieve data triangulation. The qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis, and the quantitative data were analysed using statistical analysis. The findings showed a lack of understanding of TNA, lack of support from top management, poor communication, lack of technical skills, and a lack of professional expertise. The results also recognised some unique barriers to the adoption of TNA, including undesirable attitudes toward TNA; a lack of enforcement (putting into practice) towards training in general; no systematic attempts to address the most significant performance problems, and a lack of strategic planning in the conduct of training. However, all these challenges can be reduced by effectively implementing the suggested TNA framework and the recommendations of this research work. This study's original contribution is developing a comprehensive understanding of adopting training needs analysis (TNA) in the MHU in Saudi Arabia, one of the first practical studies about TNA in the MHU. Therefore, the study's findings will reinforce the current literature about TNA associated barriers in organisations and fill the gap in knowledge relating to the strategic development of training at MHU in particular; and in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in general.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Al Jahdali, K.D.
Date:	September 2021
Rights:	This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the first instance to the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	06 Jun 2022 15:19
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2022 15:19
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/46404