ABSTRACT

The evolution of Public Administration education and training in Saudi Arabia has been influenced by two major events. The 1957 Financial Crisis mentioned earlier, and the launching of the series of development plans in 1970. The first event created a need to make the government machinery more efficient, thus, various international organisations were called on to provide help in this regard. This led to the creation of the Institute of Public Administration in 1961 and the value of efficiency became, and still is today, the predominant value guiding the affairs of the Institute. In order to achieve this value, the training of public administrators became highly focused on providing trainees with the skills needed to be more efficient in their respective government agencies. The Institute became highly recognised as a national centre, and its employees became the target for recruitment by other agencies to their top management positions.