Dubai: Last year was one of breaking traditional taboos in the Emiratisation of the private sector, said a top official at the Emirates National Development Programme (ENDP).
The Emiratisation drive in the private sector took a positive turn last year with hundreds of UAE nationals taking up jobs in non-conventional sectors such as retail and hospitality.
ENDP played a vital role in this positive development. The programme was established in November 2005 under the direction of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Its objective is to empower Emiratis and provide them with knowledge and skills necessary to start a career, especially in the private sector.
Azzah Al Sharhan, Director of ENDP, speaks to Gulf News on the past year's achievements and plans for 2008.
Gulf News: What was ENDP's greatest achievement, in your opinion, last year?
Azzah Al Sharhan: Not only did we manage to employ more than 2,000 Emiratis in the private sector, but more importantly we managed to change the mindset of our society and break traditional taboos.
This is clearly indicated in the fact that about a half of those employed through us embarked on retail and hospitality jobs.
These sectors were traditionally taboo especially for women but we managed to encourage our applicants to take on jobs in the retail and hospitality sectors.
How were you able to change mindsets and break taboos? Breaking social barriers is not an easy thing and I always say mindsets do not change overnight, but we at ENDP were determined to change the attitudes of our jobseekers.
This was done mainly through creating awareness on the nature of previously unfamiliar jobs not only among our applicants but also among their families.
Another element we worked on, which formed the core of our work, was to provide Emirates with the right skills to enable them to feel confident while exploring new fields.
We need to also change the mindset of the private sector towards UAE nationals and this could only be done through continuous dialogue with companies to bridge the gap between the two categories and companies have been an important partner in this success.
According to the latest news from the ENDP, the insurance and real estate sectors are lagging behind in their emiratisation drive despite the fact they have a quota system enforced on them and secondly, they are among the biggest and most booming sectors in the country. Why is this?
The insurance sector is a disaster and there is an unexplainable resistance to the notion of recruiting nationals so no development will be achieved unless this sector is held accountable and companies in this sector need to bear the consequences.
However, the situation of the real estate sector is different as many of the major companies are carrying out their own Emiratisation projects and we in ENDP usually like to do our best where no efforts are made.
What are the main challenges facing you in your task to encourage Emiratisation in the private sector this year?
While changing mindsets and creating jobs for UAE nationals were our main priorities for 2007, focusing on the quality of the Emirati workforce and to achieve retention for those already employed will be our main focus this year.
We will be developing career development advanced type programme to ensure that they have a career prospect and are developing, as this is the only thing that will keep them in their jobs.
What other aspects will ENDP concentrate on in 2008? Diversity is another aspect we are looking at during this year as we would like to focus on quality and not quantity but we will always aim as high as we can in terms of number.
We will enter new fields and professions and promote technical vocations as well as focusing on other emirates apart from Dubai.
