Emiratization programme exceeding targets, says TANMIA

In its third year of operations, TANMIA achieved a success rate of over 100 per cent in providing National jobseekers with employment. This was announced at a press conference held today (Tuesday, January 20, 2004).

In the area of training, TANMIA achieved a rate of 113.2 per cent in 2003, surpassing its target, by successfully training a total of 1,076 trainees. During the same year, TANMIA served 6,563 jobseekers by classifying them into various job categories and assigning the relevant training and orientation programmes.

Commenting on the performance of TANMIA at a press conference in Dubai, His Excellency, Matar H. Al Tayer, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the UAE, and Chairman of TANMIA's Board of Trustees, said: "TANMIA's employment campaign has gained significant progress in 2003, bringing us closer to the goal of rectifying the imbalance in the UAE labour force. Emiratization is a long-term process, and it needs the full cooperation of all the partners involved. The government is committed to extend its support to the national employment drive, and we will take all necessary steps to achieve the goal of suitable employment for every UAE National. We also encourage organizations in the private and public sector to cooperate with TANMIA and participate more actively in this campaign. Through the joint efforts of the government, public and private sector, and TANMIA, we engage UAE Nationals in the development of the country".

Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Director General, Tanmia, said, "We, at 'TANMIA', achieved significant success in 2003, due to the three pronged strategy of job-focused training of UAE Nationals, employment, and interacting with employers in the private and public sector. This is considered an achievement in light of the many challenges we face in placing the job seekers. There is a widespread dominance of an expatriate work force in the job market, in both sectors, public and private. TANMIA has worked assertively with employers to overcome these challenges to reach its objective of providing jobs to every UAE National".

"We are committed to ensure that TANMIA's services will reach a maximum number of UAE Nationals and employers. In 2003 TANMIA opened two new offices in Sharjah and Ajman, thus consolidating TANMIA's presence in the Northern Emirates," said Dr. Al Awar. "The new offices have also helped us to create closer integration with employers in these areas.

"However, our role does not end here. The Emiratization campaign is currently facing several challenges that need immediate addressing. There is a vast difference between the work environment in the public sector and the private sector, in terms of working hours, benefits and work culture. National job-seekers have a distinct disadvantage over expatriate candidates as the labour market does not have clearly demarcated guidelines on salary structures and number of working hours. The expatriate labour force is often compelled to work longer hours with a different salary structure. This problem, especially prevalent in the private sector, needs to be addressed in the new labour structure, as it will ultimately affect the labour market. According to a recent study conducted by the Centre for Labour Market Research and Information in TANMIA, the UAE has witnessed a decline in labour productivity in recent years, resulting in a surplus expatriate labour force. Unless we address the issue of unfair working conditions, we cannot aim to correct the imbalance in the proportion of UAE nationals in the labour market", continued Dr. Al Awar.

"Our goal for this year is to seek increased involvement from the private sector through on-the-job-training initiatives. The private sector often claim unsuitable job opportunities to be the reason for rejecting UAE National jobseekers. This can be easily rectified through proper training schemes to ensure that UAE Nationals, including women, are integrated swiftly into the nation's workforce. The UAE has a large untapped pool of unemployed women. Over 70% of job-seekers in our database are women, a third of whom are graduates. Most of these women are between 20-30 years of age and are still looking for their first job. Hence, it is imperative to engage the private sector effectively in the national employment drive.

According to TANMIA, the government ought to address the visa rules that allow easy change of jobs. Despite the shortage of jobs for UAE Nationals, certain expatriates are given the freedom to change jobs frequently, consequently harming the labour market.

"To overcome these challenges and to enable TANMIA to perform its role effectively, TANMIA and the local governments in each Emirate need to aggressively implement the Emiratisation program," said Dr. Al Awar. "As of today, in local organizations, the ratio between UAE nationals and expatriates is 1:5, against 1:2 in federal organizations. To correct this imbalance, local departments might consider issuing orders pertaining to the implementation of a more effective policy on nationalization of jobs. TANMIA will help in this process by offering training programmes and career guidance to the national job-seekers."

Dr. Al Awar said, "Realising that the key to success lies in enhancing skills through training programmes, TANMIA launched the Skills Development Programs in early 2003 to provide job-oriented training programmes in collaboration with leading training centers from the UAE. Currently, some educational institutions in the region do not provide education that can directly relate to the workplace, leaving UAE national graduates at a great disadvantage. To help overcome this issue, we established the Maharat programme, which imparts job-oriented training to new recruits selected by organizations for job placements. We successfully created customized modules aimed at enhancing the skills that have direct relevance to the job. We were thus able to place hundreds of UAE nationals in appropriate positions in public as well as private companies."

"Maharat was created as a response to a shortage of training facilities in most organizations in the UAE," said Dr. Al Awar, 'Maharat' helps in building the confidence of nationals through training that includes computer competency, language skills, sales and marketing, office management and finance."

TANMIA is stepping up its skills development programme by collaborating with Canadian and British consultancy houses, in an effort to develop more advanced tools to assess job-seekers' skills and develop career guidance capabilities of global standards.

Tanmia has been conducting several studies on the UAE job market and its requirements. The Centre for Labour Market Research and Information, which is run by TANMIA, has produced an important body of work to guide the authorities in formulating long-term strategies in order to correct the imbalance in the labour market and provide a strong economic foundation for the country.

"TANMIA is prepared to play a more critical role in bringing a new balance to the job market by working directly with potential employers to create jobs matching the qualifications and aptitude of National job-seekers," said Dr. Al Awar. "There are challenges ahead still. But with the help of the Government, the public sector and private companies, we are on track to deliver solutions that will make the UAE nationals' entry into the job market easy and productive."

TANMIA's Board of Trustees also held their first meeting of 2004 yesterday, during which an assessment of TANMIA's achievements for 2003 were compared to the targets set. The meeting reviewed TANMIA's presentation to the UAE National Council and the recommendations that the Council made. Members of the Board also discussed the Emiratisation program with the committee in charge of coordinating between TANMIA and the Ministry of Labour, and the tools required to target specific professions in the labour market. Further discussions centered on the MOUs that TANMIA has recently signed and the way in which they should be implemented, as well as on the evaluation reports detailing TANMIA's performance during the fourth quarter of 2003.