Thousands of Emiratis are found jobs

Abu Dhabi // In a little more than a year, the Tawteen Council has helped to employ more than 4,000 Emiratis in the capital, the group said yesterday. The Emiratisation programme, established in 2005, said 4,211 young men and women were hired last year after registering with Tawteen, which means "localisation" in Arabic. "You have to understand the fact that we didn't hire them. All we did was find them opportunities," said Abdullah al Darmaki, the general manager of the agency.

"We helped them with career counselling, assessment, helping with writing CVs, and then, finally, we managed to confirm that they were placed in the job. But we have a long way to go." Mr al Darmaki said more than 10,000 people were registered with the employment programme. The encouraging figures were released following a report in The National that said at least a third of newly qualified teachers from the Higher Colleges of Technology had given up their chosen profession because schools favoured English-speaking Arab expatriates with lower salary expectations.

According to the Abu Dhabi Education Council, about 14 per cent of Emiratis are out of work, with the unemployment rates generally higher in rural areas. [e-mail]