Carrefour launches new training programme for Emiratis

Retailer has recruited more than 1,000 Emiratis since 2021

Carrefour has launched a new training programme for Emiratis that it says will help it reach its goal of recruiting 3,000 by 2026.

Carrefour has launched a new retail training programme for Emiratis.

The Masarat Programme, a part of Majid Al Futtaim Retail’s Emiratisation efforts in partnership with the Nafis initiative, will train citizens for front line roles, team leaders, department heads and store managers.

The retail giant said it has recruited more than 1,000 Emiratis since 2021 and is on target to achieve its goal of 3,000 by 2026. Emiratis currently represent more than 6 per cent of its total domestic workforce, the retailer said.

Training in the programme at Carrefour’s Retail Business School will be split into five stages, beginning with front line roles and moving through to district management level to enhance expertise across all areas of the retail business.

Participants will be rewarded with financial incentives and opportunities to advance their career.

“Masarat will offer a direct route to success for thousands of talented and ambitious Emiratis, including development, training and upskilling opportunities,” said Bernardo Perloiro, chief operating officer GCC at Majid Al Futtaim Retail.

“In partnership with Nafis, our Masarat Programme is an exciting and supportive stepping stone from which 3,000 new national colleagues will be able to launch and pursue successful careers within retail by 2026.”

Launched in September 2021, Nafis, which means “compete” in Arabic, was set up to ensure key Emiratisation targets were met in the private sector.

Under the programme, Emiratis working in the sector are entitled to salary top-ups as they would typically earn more in the public sector.

Figures released in January showed that 28,700 Emiratis had taken jobs at private companies since the launch of the Nafis employment programme 12 months previously.

In March, the UAE introduced the Industrialist Programme designed to increase Emiratisation in the industrial sector, upskill national graduates and help them find skilled jobs.

The programme aims to empower talent, develop skills and provide job opportunities for UAE citizens as part of the National In-Country Value (ICV) programme.

Private sector companies with at least 50 employees must ensure at least 3 per cent of their workforce is made up of Emiratis by July 1.

In revised targets set out last month, employers in the UAE are expected to meet a 4 per cent target as part of the Emiratisation drive by the end of the year.

The Emirati employment rate is to increase to 6 per cent next year, 8 per cent in 2025 and 10 per cent in 2026.