AbbVie’s student training program celebrates five years of preparing Saudi talent for work in the pharmacy sector

AbbVie, a research-based global biopharmaceutical company, today announced that its fifth cohort of Saudi students have graduated from AbbVie’s annual student training program in Riyadh to prepare them for their future career as pharmacists.  

Over the last five years, AbbVie has successfully trained over 135 pharmacy students and graduates to help inspire more Saudi nationals to join the private pharmaceutical sector in line with Vision 2030. In 2019, the program trained 15 female and male students from King Saud University and is set to train more Saudi students in the next five years in cooperation with the industry’s initiatives.

Commenting on their five year relationship with AbbVie through the annual student training program, Dr. Aws Alshamsan, Dean of the College of Pharmacy at King Saud University, said, “Over the last five years, it has been a pleasure to see so many of our students achieve their goals and go on to become successful pharmacists. The AbbVie annual student training has helped the industry’s rising stars consolidate their knowledge and have first-hand experience of working in the pharmaceutical sector. A bright and exciting future awaits all of the students involved.”

The program aligns with the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) announcement in 2018 which outlined new legislation and direction that all medical representative roles must be occupied by Saudi nationals by 2021.

Khaled Fageha, HR manager at AbbVie said: “AbbVie is proud to be celebrating its fifth year of training and upskilling future Saudi pharmacists to support the Kingdom’s goals, as expressed in Vision 2030. Investing in training Saudi talent is imperative and a core priority for AbbVie to ensure that future pharmacists can thrive in the face of rapid yet exciting changes to the evolving healthcare landscape in Saudi Arabia. We look forward to continuing this program, so we can see hundreds more Saudi pharmacists reach their full potential over the next five years.” 

The five-week program was comprised of a series of intensive, hands-on courses to develop a wide range of knowledge and skills needed for a successful career as a pharmacist working in the pharmaceuticals sector. To celebrate this important milestone, students participated in the ceremony alongside the delegates from King Saud University in July.

“We hope that through this training, students are able to gain the knowledge and skills to tackle any task, and an increased sense of passion and enthusiasm for their field,” said Ashraf Daoud, General Manager of AbbVie Saudi Arabia. “Additionally, this further highlights our support towards the Government’s goal, as expressed in Vision 2030, to employ more Saudis in the healthcare sector. With the ever-growing demands of the kingdom’s healthcare sector, it is vital that we nurture our nation’s future talent, as they will be essential to meeting these needs.”

To give the trainees a first-hand glimpse of what their future career entails, the program covers topics such as Supply Chain Management, Governmental Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Compliance and Public Affairs. Other sessions focused on self-improvement and assessment processes including Conflict Management, Communication, Active Listening, Innovation and Emotional Intelligence. Students also joined the AbbVie in-field team of pharmacists who demonstrated to them the real-life experience and answered all their questions and queries.

Student feedback:

• “Being a part of this training was a great learning experience, as it allowed me to utilise the knowledge I had learnt in the classroom and gave me a better view of the pharmaceutical sector and what my career path would look like. This experience has made me even more excited to pursue a future at a global biopharmaceutical company, such as AbbVie, after graduating from King Saud University.” – Abdullah AlSahali
• “I am very grateful to have had this amazing opportunity to expand my knowledge and skills. Being able to learn from professionals firsthand was an eye-opening experience for me, and I want to thank all the AbbVie employees for their continuous support. After having received their exceptional guidance and training, I feel that I am better equipped to continue my studies and I look forward to a future working in pharmacy.” – Maisaa AlFuraih