Minister of Higher Education urges exploration of ways to increase the share of employment for nationals in the private sector

The two day forum entitled 'Advancing and Retaining UAE Nationals in the Workplace' which is being run by Abu Dhabi University (ADU), in conjunction with Aim Events, discussed a wide range of topics including developing employee calibre, improving retention rates, maintaining a motivated workforce and managing quotas.

In his opening address HE Sheikh Nahayan praised the vision and leadership of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahayan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and said the University had proven worthy of the name Abu Dhabi and can look forward to a promising future as an important component of higher education in the UAE and towards the enhancement of Emiratisation.

"Emiratisation is a necessary, but sometimes elusive, goal. At first glance, it appears that full employment of citizens of the UAE should be a fairly simple matter. The number of people seeking employment, after all, is relatively small when compared to the large number of jobs required to drive our nation."

he said.

However, there are many complications connected with social, economic and technological considerations that affect the placement of nationals seeking employment.

For Emiratisation to succeed," he continued, "we must explore ways to increase the share of employment for nationals in the private sector. We seek a situation where every private sector employer develops and implements a plan to aggressively recruit and employ nationals. We need a proactive role from all corners of the private economy:

- First to help articulate their employment needs;
- Second to create and seek to fill appropriate employment opportunities for nationals in their companies; and - Third, to provide on-the-job training programs to enable nationals to develop the skills and experience to advance in their companies.

"We must develop strategies with private sector employers to help persuade nationals that employment in the private sector is highly desirable. We must work to overcome flawed stereotyping of nationals as employees; and we must provide data and information about different careers and job openings to students and others seeking work across the country," he said.

The keynote address was given by Prof Lynda Gratton, a leading human resource strategist. Prof Gratton, twice named one of the world's top management thinkers by The Times, is Professor of Management Practice at the London Business School, where she directs the school's executive programme: Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Organisations, which is the world's leading executive programme on organisational change.

"The importance of management innovation as a competitive advantage for companies and countries cannot be understated," Professor Gratton told the 200 strong audience. When it came to Emiratisation she said that the Gulf can learn from the work done by the Singapore government.

"There is a clear correlation between success and organisations which have invested in building long-term, human capital programmes through innovation.

"In the UAE and elsewhere in the GCC, the same hangs true. There needs to be a significant investment in training for Emiratis and the creation of long term career paths which includes developing new skills, but more importantly interesting and meaningful work that will motivate and keep the best people in the organisation and help build a successful business.

"Great companies have diverse talent pools. The UAE has a number of great companies that can already stand side by side some of the world's biggest and most successful names," she added. "More have the opportunity to join the elite list by implementing long term HR strategies to train and develop the best talent and help grow them into leaders."

Muneeb Kazim, Manager of Strategic Planning and Performance Management in the Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Council, then led a panel discussion on the need for a national framework for Emiratisation and discussed with other Emiratisation experts, how to plan an agenda for best practice.

HE Ali Saeed Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, Chairman of ADU, said he was delighted by the interaction of the delegates.

"ADU is committed to supporting the development of the nation, and this forum has been specifically developed by Emiratis, for Emiratis based on extensive industry research, which shows that there is a major desire for more information and discussion on issues specific to Emiratisation, rather than nationalisation.

The first day's programme also included a presentation on the current issues of Emiratisation by Dr Ingo Forstenlechner, Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management at UAE University, and a series of case studies from leading UAE companies including the Department of Civil Service, Aldar, Sorouh and Al Futtaim.

Day Two's programme comprises a series of interactive workshops, where leading industry experts will share critical strategies, enabling delegates to develop practical solutions to implement in their respective organisations.

These workshops will be led by; Rory Hendrikz, Director of the Institute of for Executive Development, Abu Dhabi University Knowledge Group, (ADUKG), - Culture, Leadership and Innovation Dr Gene Crozier, Advisor ADUKG and Chris Jolliffe, Senior Manager, Summit Careers - Indentifying Emirati Talent and Roisin O'Kane, Leadership Development Specialist at Innovative Human Resource Solutions, who will head a session on coaching strategies.