Nurturing the Saudi talent of the future: Bupa Arabia

Bupa Arabia is the leading health insurer in Saudi Arabia. Established in 1997, it proactively reaches into the heart of the community, working towards helping millions of people enjoy healthier and happier lives. 

Headquartered in Jeddah and part of the global Bupa network, the company offers health-insurance products and services that cater to the needs of the Kingdom’s corporations, government institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and those they employ.

What is the challenge?

When new Saudisation mandates increased the need for Saudi talent across specialised roles, Bupa Arabia faced three key challenges:

1. Difficulty sourcing qualified Saudi candidates for niche functions like IT, Actuarial and licensed Pharmacy.
2. Hesitancy from hiring managers to onboard early-career professionals in technical roles.
3. Lengthy hiring processes slowing project delivery.

In response, the company developed and implemented the Nurturing Talents Programme (BNTP), a strategic initiative to train, develop and recruit young Saudi talent, aligning with the Saudi Vision 2030 Saudisation goals.

What were the objectives?

BNTP’s overarching aim is to create a resilient, local workforce by offering structured training, mentorship and practical experience to fresh graduates and early-career professionals. 

It is designed to:

• fill skill gaps.
• speed up hiring.
• align with national workforce priorities and Bupa Arabia’s 2030 vision for growth, innovation and business diversification.
• enhance employer branding.

What did it do?

BNTP built a sustainable pipeline of job-ready Saudi talent through:

• Structured internships (3–6 months): Blending real business projects, departmental rotations, mentorship and continuous feedback to ensure readiness.
• Company visits: Programme participants take part in on-site visits to Bupa Arabia’s offices, where they interact directly with employees and leaders. This hands-on exposure offers an authentic view of the company workplace, strengthens participants’ sense of belonging and boosts both retention and engagement.
• Career fairs and employer branding: Early access to talent through key university events.
• Strategic university partnerships: Collaborations with 11 universities across the Kingdom, aligned with the Tawteen initiative – the national strategy for Saudisation and localisation. 
• Case-study competitions: Designed to assess and inspire emerging talent.
• Development workshops: Soft skills, technical training and leadership-led sessions for well-rounded growth.

Adaptability is central to BNTP, with the programme continuously evolving to reflect both market shifts and organisational needs.

What outcomes have been achieved so far?

BNTP has become a cornerstone of Bupa Arabia’s talent strategy, delivering tangible value to the business, its people and the employer brand. 

Business and strategic impact

BNTP has transformed workforce planning and hiring efficiency:

• Reduction in time-to-hire for early-career roles from 30–45 days (2023) to 1–20 days (2024–2025), ensuring critical vacancies are filled faster.
• 35% conversion from trainee to full-time hire.
• Retention rates after 12+ months: 95.4% for males, 95.16% for females.
• Expansion of Bupa Arabia’s hiring budget from SAR56 million in 2023 to SAR127 million in 2025.

The programme is now fully institutionalised, having been integrated into core recruitment processes, onboarding and annual headcount forecasting. 

Performance metrics and financial impact

BNTP is a powerful driver of performance success and is delivering a measurable return on investment. In 2025, BNTP trainees in Customer Care produced exceptional business results, achieving a 93% customer satisfaction score and a net promoter score of 83%, reinforcing Bupa Arabia’s reputation for service excellence and customer loyalty. Operational-efficiency gains translated into a projected SAR4 million in cost savings in 2025.

People impact 

BNTP delivers exceptional value to its key stakeholders:

• Hiring managers: 95% expressed high satisfaction, praising trainees’ cultural fit, technical readiness and rapid contribution.
• Participants: Over 4,800 graduates have benefited from the programme, gaining hands-on experience, leadership exposure and skills development through training and mentoring.
• Organisation-wide reach: BNTP now supports 100% of eligible early-career roles, with 70% of departments participating in multiple programme activities, reinforcing trust and adoption.

Cultural and behavioural change

The programme has reshaped Bupa Arabia’s approach to talent acquisition, embedding early-career hiring as a strategic priority and cultivating a culture of developing talent from within. Managers actively engage with BNTP cohorts, fostering cross-functional collaboration and enhancing organisational culture.

Recognition and employer branding

BNTP’s success has elevated Bupa Arabia’s profile as an employer of choice. The award-winning programme has been lauded by Saudi Arabia’s Human Resources Development Fund, as well as by recruitment platforms LinkedIn and Talentera.

Overarching impact

By delivering high-quality hires faster, improving retention and reducing reliance on external recruitment, BNTP contributes directly to cost savings, operational efficiency and long-term talent sustainability. It has evolved from an initiative into a strategic talent engine, strengthening internal capabilities, boosting employee experience and positioning Bupa Arabia as a market leader in early-career recruitment.

Key learnings

• Strong senior-leadership sponsorship ensures BNTP remains a key enabler of business strategy.
• Robust collaboration between HR, business units and other support functions is fundamental to success.
• A dynamic, two-way feedback engine keeps the programme fresh, relevant and impactful.
• AI-powered video screening has transformed the recruitment process, cutting down manual HR workload and enabling smarter hiring decisions.