DUBAI // Jobs in factories, retail, sales and petrol stations are among the positions on offer for Emirati youth at this year’s Careers UAE fair.
More young Emiratis are warming up to the idea of working for private companies, a slow shift from the popular demand for government jobs, say recruiters at the three-day event at the World Trade Centre.
“There is no longer this gap between the private and public sectors,” said Zohair Al Haj, director of human resources and localisation at Al Futtaim Group.
“There is much more ambition and desire for career development among young Emiratis.
“Most are now educated in private schools and are ready and willing to work in multicultural and diverse environments, as opposed to five to 10 years ago when nationals came from public schools where they only saw other nationals.”
Mr Al Haj said there were 300 Emiratis working in retail, sales and customer service at Al Futtaim Group.
The pool of talented Emiratis was bigger than ever, he said, but the challenge in hiring them lay in whether they have the right attitude.
“They have to be ready to enter this environment, be able to mingle and work in the private sector as well as understand the competitive nature [of private enterprise],” said Mr Al Haj.
At the stand of Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), staff were keen to hire Emiratis to work as petrol station managers.
Emirati visitors to the 2016 jobs fair comprised 47 per cent of the people that Enoc hired last year, and Emiratis made up 35 per cent of the company’s workforce, said Abdallah Saleh, Enoc’s Emiratisation manager.
He said Enoc was investing in Emirati workers by training them from the ground up.
Abdel Rahman, who joined Enoc last year, spoke to prospective employees at this year’s jobs fair, said Mr Saleh.
“He is in charge of one of the Enoc sites and we are very proud of him,” he said. “He was a high-school graduate when we hired him. He works with us in the mornings and continues his studies in the evenings, and we brought him here today to share his experiences.”
At the jobs fair, representatives from Emirates Global Aluminium were offering positions at its factories in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. But they were finding it hard to recruit Emiratis for positions that require irregular work shifts.
Emirates Global Aluminium, which has 1,200 Emiratis in its 7,000-strong workforce, aims to fill 200 more positions.
“It is important for us to find people who are willing to be flexible and do shift work,” said Sultan Al Bastaki, a recruitment manager at the company.
Last month, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, urged Emirati youth to seek private-sector jobs so as to shape the UAE’s future and to stop thinking of government employment.
Zahra Shaikh, a recruitment manager at PepsiCo, said there had been a gradual shift among Emirati jobseekers towards the private sector.
“We are slowing seeing a changing trend. Many Emiratis are now showing interest in the private sector but some challenges remain,” she said.
“I think one of the reasons why some Emiratis prefer the public sector is because they’re passionate about their country and want to serve the Government.”
Ms Shaikh also said that PepsiCo was working with universities to highlight job opportunities in the private sector.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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