Korea to help meet UAE skills need

Hundreds of South Korean professionals could help to fill knowledge gaps in health, military and aviation industries.

SK Engineering is one of many firms that collectively earned billions for work in the GCC last year.

The UAE may hire hundreds of professionals from South Korea, including retired servicemen, as it seeks to fill a critical skills gap in its diversifying economy. Emirates Advanced Investments (EAI), an Abu Dhabi-based development and investment company with close ties to the Armed Forces, last month signed a memorandum of understanding with Human Resources Development Services of Korea (HRD Korea).

The agreement spans the fields of military services, health care and aviation. The accord is yet another development between the two countries after Korea's nuclear power industry won a US$20 billion (Dh73.45bn) deal to supply the UAE with its first reactors, which will be opened in phases between 2017 and 2020. Soon after the landmark deal, the two governments pledged to pursue other areas of co-operation in clean energy, semiconductors, shipbuilding and the defence industry.

EAI is rapidly growing in the fields of training, recruitment and leadership education, and has created subsidiaries such as Knowledge Point and Al Shaheen to serve the UAE's growing skills requirements. Its agreement with HRD Korea follows a visit by Hussain al Hammadi, the chief executive of EAI, to Korea this year. "The UAE is expecting to see 600 to 700 new jobs created in 2010 alone for healthcare and aviation professionals, as well as for those with special military experience to address the dramatic surge in demand in these industries," HRD Korea said.

"The UAE has already requested 30 professionals in eight different fields including aviation, procurement and IT. "We are expecting that there will be a surge in the UAE's demand for flight attendants, maintenance staff for military aircraft and other professionals in the future." The emphasis on retired Korean military officers was highlighted by Korean newspaper articles, which quoted a military official saying the UAE expects Korea's "excellent retired servicemen" to play important roles in a diversity of industrial fields.

"We are waiting to hear how many staff the UAE needs," the official said. "Once the number is fixed, we will hold a discussion in earnest primarily through the Korea Veterans Association." After the nuclear deal, commercial dealings between the two countries included a preliminary agreement between Abu Dhabi Ship Building and South Korea's STX Offshore and Shipbuilding to collaborate on offshore support vessels.

And in May, the UAE agreed to buy and test 40 K11 specialised assault rifles, worth as much as $560,000, from South Korean companies. The Korean defence industry is also preparing to take part in an expected contest to provide military land vehicles for the UAE. Korean companies produce the K2 Black Panther battle tank. Dr Theodore Karasik, the director of research and development at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, called the agreement "another sign that following the nuclear agreement, Korean-UAE relations are extremely robust and continue to grow".

"It is good for the UAE as it helps to diversify who they sign contracts with, from energy and staff servicing and weapons systems. It is across the board." For South Korea, the deal was "an important new step in developing a relationship with one of the more powerful and advanced GCC states", Dr Karasik said. Korea will also play a key role in training for the UAE's nuclear development. In January, Khalifa University and the Institute of Applied Technology outlined plans for a student and lecturer exchange with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon.