ABU DHABI // A jobs fair aimed at boosting Emiratisation has been declared a success after attracting more than 15,000 job seekers.
The three-day Tawdheef exhibition, held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, which ended yesterday, brought job seekers into contact with representatives from more than 120 companies, in a bid to match the brightest Emirati talents with the best career prospects.
Hayete Jemai, the exhibition's director, said that she had received positive feedback from both companies and job seekers.
"The exhibitors were happy with the quality of CVs and the professional profiles. Most exhibitors want to come back next year," she said.
"Emiratis liked that they were given the priority. In Tawdheef we facilitate the will from the government to provide for the Emirati population."
Ms Jemai said the exhibition had attracted 2,000 more visitors than last year and that there had also been an increase in the number of government organisations participating.
"This is a very good platform [for government organisations] to select their needs," Ms Jemai said.
"This exhibition covers all the sectors - banking, manufacturing, transport, municipalities, and the armed forces."
On Wednesday, the exhibition opened to ladies only from 10am to 1pm, and Ms Jemai said this had encouraged female visitors.
"This is the second year we have implemented this idea. Ladies are more comfortable talking among themselves and the exhibitors are looking for talented ladies," she added.
Mohammed Al Shamsi, a senior talent attraction officer at Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, a government entity, said that the exhibition exceeded his expectations.
"A huge number of students asked to apply, many of them have degrees in technical majors that we were looking for," he said, adding that the majority of CVs he received were from female Emiratis and were "extraordinary".
"I felt good. We have a responsibility to a certain strategy for the company, including manpower," he added. "I hope we can fill the vacancies."
This was the company's first time at the exhibition and it plans to return in the years to come.
Ahmed Al Sarrah, senior human resources manager at the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, said the company's booth attracted a huge number of visitors and that he had been impressed at the standard of CVs.
"We already had pre-interviews in the stand and will be contacting them directly within three to four weeks," he said.
But it was not only companies that were pleased with the turnout. "It is more than I expected," said one job seeker, Hamad Al Hammadi, 28.
"I like that they are providing more information unlike the other previous exhibitions."
The senior accountant, who has an MBA, said he was attending the exhibition because he had a routine job and was looking for a change. "I want something out of my field. My goal is to broaden my experience," he said.
Sisters Anoud Al Dhalee, 23, and Fatema, 22, had contrasting experiences of the exhibition.
Anoud, who graduated last June with a higher diploma in IT software engineering from Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), said she was hopeful it would help her to get a job soon.
"There are many new companies and they are more interesting. This year they are more interactive and are helping me get an idea about the companies," she said.
But Fatema, who also graduated from HCT, and at the same time as her sister with a diploma in business, said such exhibitions failed to inspire her. "It is my third exhibition and with no results. The companies give the impression that they will hire us immediately, but that is not true," she said.
Fatima Al Marzooqi, 22, who graduated from Zayed University this week with a bachelor's degree in environmental health, was more upbeat.
"It seems I will find a job because all the companies now have an environmental department. We are wanted and there aren't many of us," she said.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
