Private sector should create the right environment, and Emiratis should become competitive to ensure success of Emiratisation

"On the other hand, UAE nationals should also take steps to prepare themselves for the private sector by becoming competitive and employable," he added.

Hynes was speaking at the HR Conference on "Recruitment, Labour Law and Emiratisation in the UAE" organised by the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) recently.

Addressing HR professionals from different organisations, Hynes stressed that both sides needed to come half way to make Emiratisation workable. Speaking about the overall job market, Hynes said organisations in the UAE should show real commitment to Human Resources, not just lip service. He also revealed that employers were finding it difficult to attract and retain staff, because of factors like high inflation and better opportunities in other emerging economies, making the Gulf a less attractive destination.

Dr. Gwen Rodrigues, Assistant Professor in HR at UOWD, presented an overview of the UAE labour market based on her research. She highlighted that the current developmental initiatives will create total employment of 1.73 million by 2015, enough to absorb ten times the present number of unemployed UAE nationals. Presently, the UAE creates some 300,000 jobs each year.

Dr. Rodrigues said that over 95 % per cent of the non-oil sector's contribution to the UAE economy was driven by the services sector, of which education has been identified as one of the main enablers. She predicted that the employment market will become increasingly skill-driven as the UAE continues leapfrogs towards higher economic growth. The share of unskilled labour would be reduced gradually through the adoption of capital and technology intensive practices.

Dr. Lien Els, Associate Professor in Human Resource Management, UOWD, speaking on "Changing Workplace Relations" said in a multicultural job market, smooth employee relations were of critical importance.

HR professionals should understand cultural differences, communicate across those differences, manage diversity and, finally, create value for industry and society. According to Dr. Els, some of the benefits of diversity at workplace were wider talent pool, enhanced innovation and creativity, better customer understanding and a more harmonious society.

Yazan Saoudi, Partner, Al Tamimi & Company, while providing an update on labour laws in the UAE, said that only 9 per cent of UAE companies were meeting the Emiratisation targets, and urged that the situation needed to change as there were over 33,000 unemployed nationals in the UAE.

Ben Fawcett, Director, The Hiring Solutions Company, provided insights into how e-Recruitment was gaining currency worldwide and changing the conventional recruitment procedures. The highly skilled, highly mobile knowledge worker has become increasing dependent on this electronic medium to find career opportunities beyond geographic boundaries.

Earlier, Cedwyn Fernandes, Chair, College of Graduate Studies, UOWD, welcomed the participants. Dr. Julia Connell, Associate Professor, HRM, UOWD, provided an overview of the conference. The concluding panel discussion featured Amy Ballinger, Legal Consultant at DLA Piper Middle East, Mike Hynes and Ben Fawcett.
One of the delegates hailed the conference as "a great initiative to update people on HR issues" and praised the presenters for effectively sharing their ideas with fellow professionals.