The UAE, the second-largest economy in the Gulf, aims to increase chances for its own inhabitants because foreigners hold the vast majority of private sector positions.
Like other oil-rich Arab Gulf nations, the UAE frequently employs its citizens through the public sector.
However, times are changing, according to Emirati researcher Khalifa al-Suwaidi, 34, who has been searching for employment in the private sector since leaving his position with the government in June.
In terms of skill sets and expertise, Emiratis now differ from one another, according to Suwaidi.
Many of such talents are no longer acceptable in the public sector.
ILO statistics show that non-nationals hold over 90% of private sector occupations, with only 12% of the nation’s more than nine million population is UAE citizens.
Author Suwaidi said he thought some businesses passed over his application because they assumed an Emirati would demand the high salary frequently paid in lucrative government positions. His book is titled “UAE after the Arab Spring.”
He stated that “the private sector needs to be more tolerant.” “For a while, I’ve been applying for jobs, but to no success.”
greater push
To ensure Emiratis make up 10% of the private sector workforce by 2026, the government is now coercing private companies into hiring local talent.
Businesses with more than 50 employees risk fines if they don’t fill 2% of their skilled positions with Emiratis.
With recruiters reporting a “flood of openings” from businesses, many of which won’t be able to reach their goals, this has triggered a hiring frenzy.
Hamza Zaouali, the founder of the recruitment firm Iris Executives, predicted a difficult period but noted that further expansion and hiring by the UAE government were “not viable.”
Making ensuring that the economy consistently hires, educates, and employs Emiratis is the more sustainable approach, according to Zaouali.
Eman Alhussein, a non-resident fellow of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, claimed that it is a part of a larger trend.
According to her, the UAE is a part of “a bigger Gulf-wide effort to shift the dynamics of state-society ties” and wean people off of government employment.
Gulf states encourage people to lower their expectations, contribute to the community, and accept work with longer hours and possibly lower pay, according to Alhussein.
Abdulrahman Al Awar, the UAE’s Minister of Human Resources and Emiratization, claimed in November that by 2022, more than 14,000 Emiratis would have entered the labour force, with 100 of them obtaining employment on average.
Additionally, the government unveiled a salary support programme that will give Emiratis working in the private sector up to AED 7,000 ($1,900) extra each month if their salaries fall below AED 30,000.
Although there is no national minimum salary for Emiratis, they are entitled to a monthly minimum of AED 25,000 in Sharjah, one of the country’s seven emirates.
Discontent
The United Nations listed the UAE as one of the ten richest nations in the world in 2020. The UAE is a major regional base for international corporations.
According to the International Monetary Fund, it had a per capita GDP of about $47,000 in 2022, which was higher than that of France and Britain.
Although it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the Middle East, information on Emiratis’ overall unemployment is not made available to the general public.
According to the Dubai Statistics Center, the unemployment rate for Emiratis in Dubai, the financial centre of the UAE, increased from 2.5 percent in 2012 to 4.2 percent in 2019.
“Discontent” has been building, according to Mira Al Hussein, an Emirati scholar at the University of Oxford, especially after restrictions banning foreign ownership of enterprises at 49 percent were repealed last year.
“In the past, Emiratis who were hesitant to work in the private sector had the choice to wait for a job in the public sector, start their own firm, or become the 51 percent local partner in a business,” she said.
The possibilities available have become more limited as a result of these many sources drying up.
This month, a Subway job posting encouraging Emiratis to apply for the position of “sandwich maker” attracted notice and stirred discussion on social media. The “contentious” post led to a government investigation.
“Sandwich makers have emerged as a result of the shortage of administrative, financial, and technological positions… What a long time! read a well-known Twitter post.
