Firms root for Emiratisation to push forward UAE’s efforts

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business

Emiratisation rang loud and clear at the recently-held National Career Exhibition 2016, in Sharjah. Backing UAE’s pledge to nurture local talent and provide superior training and growth opportunities to Emiratis, participating companies said they were fully dedicated to create a national workforce.
Rashed Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange, one of the main participants at the event, said, “We are eager to offer active support to the national efforts to develop a generation of skilled and competent professionals in line with the company’s vision and values.” He said the company is committed to employ Emiratis as part of the country’s Vision 2021 Plan to diversify the economy and to create jobs for UAE nationals. Over the past year alone, Al Ansari Exchange has employed and trained more than 100 nationals.
“We aim to become the preferred employer for dynamic Emiratis who are motivated to establish themselves in the finance and banking sector. We offer a number of specialised training programmes that aim to cultivate the knowledge and expertise of new graduates as well as to encourage the youth to embrace various industry verticals,” he added.
Emiratisation is being vigorously promoted throughout the country. According to Emirati Employment Report 2015 by Oxford Strategic Consultancy (OSC), it is believed that 60 percent of Emirati nationals need to be groomed as leaders if nationals want to run their country.
At the same event, Emirates NBD was given the Human Resource Development Award in the banking and financial sector by EIBFS (Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies) in recognition of its commitment to Emiratisation and for
successfully achieving its nationalisation target for the year 2015.
Maryam Bahlooq, Head of Business Partnership, Emirates NBD, said, “We are honoured to be recognised for our Emiratisation efforts by EIBFS. We are committed to supporting the UAE’s drive towards Emiratisation by fostering national talent within the bank and enabling future leaders of the UAE economy.”
As part of its Emiratisation strategy, Emirates NBD runs a series of employment training programmes like Menha by Emirates NBD which is a scholarship programme that provides financial support to UAE national students, while opening doors to future career opportunities at the bank. This is particularly important as the OSC report also suggests that banking and finance are one of major sectors that Emiratis prefer to work in.
‘Saaed’ also participated in the event as part of its continuous campaign to attract qualified national cadres into its ranks. In order to drive the success of its Emiratisation process and make it a sustainable programme, Saaed is keen to attract more young Emirati talents.
Fatima Ahli, Executive Director of Strategy and Corporate Performance at Saaed, said, “We are committed to the company’s strategic plan that fully supports the development of national cadres, and we want to place national talents at the most important entrepreneurial centers within the Saaed network with opportunities within various administrative and technical fields.”
On a national scale, Ministry of Labour is working towards promoting the participation of UAE citizens in the private sector by developing a national work policy and implementing programmes to promote the participation of Emiratis.