ABU DHABI // Fewer employers harbour stereotypes about Emirati staff being of low quality and lacking commitment.
Two thirds of employers judge Emirati university graduates to be high quality, and they say nearly two thirds of their Emirati employees stay with them for at least three years.
As a result, fewer companies employ Emiratis just to meet quotas, a study suggests.
Nearly three quarters of companies have an Emiratisation programme, and both the public and private sector are increasingly understanding how to better address unemployment among UAE nationals, according to the new research by the Abu Dhabi University Knowledge Group.
Pay, benefits and conditions of employment remain the top consideration for Emirati jobseekers, at 67.5 per cent, but an increasing number value career development: nearly 60 per cent of those surveyed said it was important.
Despite the optimism, however, challenges remain, the annual Emiratisation Forum in Abu Dhabi was told on Monday.
“If there is one number we have to address, it’s the 20-28 per cent unemployment rate among Emiratis – it’s a dreadful figure,” said Dr Gene Crozier, director of research at the Knowledge Group, which was established in 2006 to support the country’s training and development needs.
He said the unemployment rate was particularly unusual because the Emirati workforce was so highly educated.
“It was a big surprise to see 80 per cent of Emiratis in higher level positions having master degrees,” Dr Crozier said. “If you went into boardrooms in the West you would be lucky to get 20 per cent of that.”
A key challenge in reducing unemployment, the forum heard, was hiring those who were not recent graduates.
“Unfortunately we are using a military model in hiring Emiratis: most of those being hired have to be at the bottom,” said Ahmad Shabib Al Dhaheri, director general of the Zayed Foundation.
Echoing Mr Al Dhaheri’s sentiments was Wissam Hachem, vice president of learning and development at Etihad Airways.
“Most companies focus on entry-level hiring for Emiratis but we should broaden our search,” he said.
More vocational and practical training is essential in improving Emiratisation, Dr Crozier said.
“The Government needs to put its money and investments into vocational programmes to allow individuals to use their talent and experience.
“If there is one action the UAE has to take, it is to make sure that within five years we have an extensive vocational framework in action.”
Those who could benefit from further developing vocational programmes included Emiratis who had not graduated from high school, and retired military personnel looking for employment elsewhere, said Dr Crozier.
In the future, he said, it was important to help Emiratis to find what they were good at and what they wanted to do, give them the training and instil the confidence they needed, and fast track them on an individual basis.
tsubaihi@thenational.ae
