Education & leadership programme assesses Emiratisation needs through research

The analysis of results suggests that there is still a long way to go in efforts to encourage more UAE nationals to join the private sector.

The online study, conducted by YouGov Siraj, polled 415 UAE residents, both male and female and representing a broad range of nationalities, the majority of whom said they are involved in the monitoring of employees at their organizations. Overall, respondents tended to prioritize experience and education over nationality.

The research, for instance, found that while 64 per cent of respondents stated that they are likely to hire Emirati graduates who possess the appropriate skills and expertise, only 32 per cent actually have. In addition, 24 per cent have special career advisors to meet and recruit Emirati students, almost half said they had no intention of applying such outreach programmes.

The majority of respondents found it difficult to meet the Emirati employee quota set for their organistion, this was especially prevalent amongst Western expats. 15 per cent of respondents stated that their companies have Emiratisation quotas in place, UAE nationals made up only one per cent of the employee base of respondents' companies. Several respondents said that recruitment should be carried out on a purely meritocratic basis.

There were a number of reasons as to why organizations found difficulties in meeting the quotas set in hiring UAE nationals, with 46 per cent reporting that there are not enough trained or skilled Emiratis to hire. Over 50 per cent of respondents did not believe that Emiratis' education levels prepare them well for employment, while 33 per cent said they view Emirati job applicants as either 'slightly below average' or 'well below average' compared to other nationalities. In addition it is believed amongst Emiratis employees there is an unwillingness to work long hours and reluctance to engage with the team.

'Investing into such research is essential and of the up most importance in order to maintain a concise and clear understanding of what stake holders are looking for; through this research we hope to grasp the perceptions or perhaps misconceptions that are in the public domain towards nationals in the workplace,' said Amina Taher, Executive Director of Corporate Communications for Zabeel Investments. 'One of the driving forces in developing Bidaya, our education and leadership programme that we share in partnership with Nakheel, has been creating a generation of Emiratis who, because of their training and expertise, will be viewed as indispensable to private sector organizations.'

As the UAE evolves, the demand for talented individuals to work in various sectors will increase, with the research showing that Sales and Marketing, Administration and PR are seemingly the fields that will be most in demand over the next 3 years; the least will be Charity, Law and Military. In fact of these companies polled, these are the areas in which they would encourage recruiting Emiratis.

Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Bidaya Manager, said, 'Along with the goal of educating the young people of the UAE, Bidaya also aims to counter unfair perceptions that still exist among some employers. The fact is, there is a large pool of extremely talented and motivated young people in this country, and it is in the interests of companies doing business here that they are provided with access to these people.'

Bidaya offers a comprehensive annual scholarship to 20 UAE national students who are in their final year of secondary education and are planning on pursuing university education. In addition, Bidaya offers an extensive leadership and training programme, where students are exposed to a large pool of experienced career professionals and renowned theorists. Unlike most institutions offering educational scholarships, Bidaya does not require its students to join the companies upon graduation.

'We hope that our initiative will promote not only education for our youth, but also encourage companies across the UAE to change their policies and perceptions relating to Emiritization,' concluded Taher.