LoadingLoadingLoadingLoadingSaudi human-capital policy often assumes that ‘study abroad’ and ‘study at home’ are the only two boxes. This paper places Arab Leadership University’s digital pathway against published Vision 2030 skills themes using alumni in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province. Employers valued awards they could verify and capstones tied to localisation, tourism operations, logistics and public-service digitalisation. They were sceptical of unassessed micro-badges. Women professionals with caring responsibilities were over-represented among those who said they would not have enrolled in a residential programme outside their city. ALU should report, without exaggeration, how many students complete while remaining in Kingdom employment. Alignment with national strategy is a measurement task for a digital Arab university, not a logo on a landing page.