Better salaries and career progression draws Emiratis to Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Omar Abdelrahman, 25, is about to graduate from Khalifa University in computer engineering and has been looking for jobs in his home emirate of Sharjah. He has been offered a salary of around Dh18,000 a month, while the same position pays Dh45,000 in the capital.

DUBAI // Young Emirati men seeking better salaries and career progression continue to be drawn to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, challenging Emiratisation efforts in the Northern Emirates.

Omar Abdelrahman, 25, is about to graduate from Khalifa University in computer engineering and had been looking for jobs in his home emirate of Sharjah. He was offered a job at Dh18,000 a month, while a similar post in Abu Dhabi would pay Dh45,000.

“The problem is that there’s a huge difference in the salaries,” said Mr Abdelrahman. “Dubai has almost caught up with Abu Dhabi so I’m thinking of getting a job there rather than having to go all the way to Abu Dhabi.”

Aside from the disparity in pay, working hours in Abu Dhabi and Dubai were also more attractive.

“If you work in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, you also do less hours. It’s more like 8 to 2 versus 8 to 5 [in somewhere like Sharjah],” said Mr Abdelrahman. “It’s an issue for Emiratisation.”

Aside from the obvious benefits of salary and hours, young Emiratis said they were drawn away from finding work in the Northern Emirates because companies in the capital and Dubai paid greater attention to their needs.

"Here in Dubai, every six months we have evaluations, which you don't get in places like Fujairah," said Salem Dahmani, 25, who is also studying for his bachelor's degree in computer engineering at Khalifa University's Sharjah campus while working for Dubai Customs.

“This is what is missing in the Northern Emirates, the lack of self-improvement opportunities that you get elsewhere.”

Mr Abdelrahman, who was hoping to find work with the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology and to be sent to Korea as part of its employee development policies, agreed.

“Working in Dubai, you get evaluations and they’re trying to improve you [the employee] as much as possible.”

He said that most of his friends now worked in the capital, especially those employed in the nuclear industry.

Abdulmuttalib Al Hashimi, an Emiratisation consultant and founder of Next Level consultancy, said many young men in the Northern Emirates were choosing to move or even commute to jobs in Abu Dhabi, often in the army and police.

“Within the local community it’s known that Emiratis who come from the Northern Emirates are hardworking, and wouldn’t have it easy because there is a lack of job creation in the Northern Emirates compared with Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the biggest job creator, so many make that commute.”

He admitted the Northern Emirates had been slower in efforts to establish Emiratisation, which had contributed to the exodus.

“The nationals born and raised in the Northern Emirates have to make a choice, where they either stay and remain unemployed, or they make the commute.”

However, the choice was not as simple for women who, for family and cultural reasons, might be unable to move away from home and also unable to drive long distances every day.

“It takes its toll on people, especially women, so they may love their jobs but it’s very hard to maintain,” said Mr Al Hashimi.

“Some employers have become so concerned about this that they have decided not to employ Emiratis who don’t reside in Abu Dhabi because of the safety concerns, and they know it affects job motivation.”

He said that Emiratis’ pay expectations did not help the situation, with many pricing themselves out of the job market before they even leave college.

“It doesn’t necessarily reflect reality. Salary expectations have to be managed and the salary question addressed. New graduates in Dubai should expect about Dh15-18,000 a month, which in international terms is quite good but when you have organisations that pay two or three times more than that, that’s the odd case [for those in highly skilled jobs such as in the nuclear sector] but people perceive that as market rate.”

Better regulation of salaries would level the playing field for firms in the Northern Emirates and lead to more locals taking jobs closer to home because many companies simply could not compete with the Abu Dhabi companies and government bodies, he said.

“We need to be spreading awareness about the job and career, not salary levels. Job creation in regions with young populations is not enough to attract and absorb the number of job seekers and graduates every year, and that’s a key question that needs to be addressed.”