Serving Saudi Arabia & the GCC • 
Recruiting from Pakistan • Govt. Licensed OEP-0664-Rawalpindi
The trade test is the step where a job title on paper becomes a skill somebody has verified. For Pakistani workers heading to Saudi Arabia in a notified occupation, it is run jointly by the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and Takamol, the Saudi body that sets the standard.
This guide explains who has to sit the trade test, which occupations are covered, how booking works, what it costs, and what the certificate does once you have it.
What this guide covers
- What the trade test is, and who runs it
- Who has to take it
- The 108 approved trades
- Booking: the seven steps
- Fee and test centres
- What the assessment does not do
- After you pass
What the trade test is, and who runs it
Takamol is a Saudi organisation that certifies occupational competence. NAVTTC is Pakistan’s national authority for vocational standards. The two exchanged national occupational standards and built a shared assessment regime, so a Pakistani candidate can be assessed in Pakistan against the standard a Saudi employer recognises.
The programme is formally called the Skill Verification Program. That name is precise and worth reading carefully: it verifies competence a candidate already has. It is not training, and passing it is not a job offer.
Who has to take the trade test
NAVTTC states that skill verification is mandatory only for candidates going to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in occupations notified by Saudi Takamol. If your occupation is on the notified list, the test is not optional. If it is not, no verification certificate is required for that route.
Two practical consequences follow. First, check the occupation before you plan anything else — the answer changes the timeline and the cost. Second, the occupation that matters is the one written on the employer’s demand letter, not the one you describe in conversation. A mismatch between the demand letter and the trade test booking is the most common avoidable delay in the whole file.
The 108 approved trades
NAVTTC publishes 108 approved trades across several sectors. The construction and civil group includes load and unload worker, construction worker, building electrician, plumber and scaffold labourer. The driving group covers truck driver, heavy truck driver, bus driver, car or taxi driver, and motorcycle driver.
The services group includes offices and facilities cleaning, warehouse worker, kitchen worker, hospital cleaner and street cleaner. Mechanical, electrical, automotive, culinary, beauty, electronics and packaging trades are also covered.
Read the list as a signal, not just a rulebook. These are the occupations Saudi Arabia has built a verification pipeline for, which is a fair indication of where it is hiring at volume.
Booking the trade test: the seven steps
- Create a profile on the Takamol Skill Verification Program portal.
- Select the trade, the date and the city.
- Pay the assessment fee.
- Receive the appointment slip.
- Get assigned to a test centre.
- Attend and take the assessment.
- Receive the certificate — issued within 24 hours of a successful result.
Candidates register directly on the portal. A licensed promoter will normally help with the trade selection and the scheduling, because getting the trade wrong at step two is expensive to undo.
Fee and test centres
NAVTTC publishes the assessment fee as USD 85 per test, equivalent to roughly PKR 23,500 to 24,500 depending on the exchange rate, effective from 9 September 2026. Fees are set by the programme and do change; confirm the current figure on the official page before you pay anything to anybody.
There are 62 test centres nationwide, of which 44 are currently active, in cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Multan. Book the centre nearest to you rather than the earliest slot on the calendar — a missed appointment in another province costs more than a week of waiting.
What the assessment does not do
Three things the trade test will not do for you. It will not train you: the programme assesses what you can already do. It will not find you a job: certification and recruitment are separate, and anybody who packages them together is selling something else. And it will not fix a document problem — your certificates, attestations and medical still have to stand on their own. Our documents checklist covers those.
After you pass the trade test
The certificate feeds into the rest of the file. Medical screening follows, then visa stamping and biometrics, then registration with the Protector of Emigrants before departure. Our guide to the GAMCA medical test covers the next step, and the Saudi work visa process sets out the full sequence.
The order matters. A trade test taken before the employer’s demand is confirmed can leave you certified for an occupation nobody is currently recruiting, which is an avoidable cost.
Five things that go wrong at the trade test
- The trade selected does not match the demand letter. The certificate then proves the wrong thing, and the file stalls later, not sooner.
- The name on the booking does not match the passport exactly. Spellings, middle names and the order of names all have to agree.
- Arriving without the appointment slip. The centre works from the assignment, not from a payment receipt.
- An expired CNIC or passport on the day. Check validity dates the week before, not the morning of.
- Booking a centre in another city to get an earlier date. Travel and accommodation usually cost more than the wait.
Frequently asked questions
Is the trade test the same as a NAVTTC skills certificate?
No. A NAVTTC vocational qualification is awarded after training and assessment at an institute. The Skill Verification Program assessment is a standalone verification against the Saudi occupational standard, taken by people who already work in the trade. Holding one does not remove the need for the other.
Who pays for the trade test?
That depends on what the employer set out in the demand letter. Some employers bear the assessment cost, others do not. Ask before booking — it is a straightforward question with a straightforward answer, and a licensed promoter can confirm what the demand says.
What happens if I fail?
Certification is issued on a successful result, so a failed assessment produces no certificate. Candidates generally rebook and sit again; the practical question is whether the trade was the right one to begin with, which is worth reviewing before paying a second fee.
What to bring on the day
Bring the original CNIC and the original passport, both valid on the day, and the appointment slip exactly as it was issued. If the trade is a practical one, bring the clothing and safety footwear you would wear on site — a candidate who cannot safely be allowed near equipment cannot be assessed.
Check three things against each other the week before: the spelling of your name on the passport, on the CNIC and on the booking. All three have to agree, including middle names and the order they appear in. This is the cheapest error in the whole process to prevent and one of the more expensive to correct, because the certificate is issued in the name the booking carried.
Leave your educational and trade certificates at home unless you are told otherwise. The assessment verifies what you can do at the centre on the day; your certificates belong to the attestation chain, which runs separately and on its own timetable. Keeping the two apart is also how you avoid losing an original document at a busy test centre.
Working with a licensed promoter
Al Abbasi Enterprises has been licensed as an Overseas Employment Promoter since 1988 under licence OEP-0664-Rawalpindi. We match candidates to the occupation actually named in the employer’s demand before any assessment is booked. The programme details above are published by NAVTTC and should be checked there for current fees and centres.
See the sectors we recruit for on our Saudi Arabia page, or contact our Rawalpindi office. We reply within one working day, in English, Arabic or Urdu.