Lack of confidence hampers Emiratisation

The National Staff

• Last Updated: May 04. 2009 8:33PM UAE / May 4. 2009 4:33PM GMT

DUBAI // The government body responsible for helping UAE nationals find jobs say they are worried about poor responses to recruitment drives which they say is due to Emiratis feeling they have little chance of securing a good job in the current market.

However, Fedah Lootah, the head of Tanmia, believes that better communication with locals will improve the situation.

She made her comments in reaction to a low turnout at a recruitment event in Dubai this week organised by the Dubai Government National Human Resources Development Authority (DGNHR). Just seven Emiratis from 451 jobseekers who were contacted came to meet management from private insurance company in Dubai with positions available.

“The reason I think the turnout was so low is because some have lost faith in finding good jobs. This is despite resent assurances that there are jobs being created for Emiratis,” said Fedah Lootah.

Tanmia is the body responsible for increasing the supply of qualified and skilled UAE nationals into the workforce - reducing the reliance on expatriates.

“The news did come as a surprise. I think its probably down to miscommunication and that is addressable.”

Miss Lootah believed the major problem for many young Emiratis seeking employment jobs was that they chose degree disciplines that are not in demand, and in the current job market some sectors might not be hiring.

She recognises there are those who have university degrees that only lead to certain jobs but points to the fact there are currently 255 jobs on the Tanmia website as a reason for UAE national jobseekers to be optimistic.

“We will introduce new measures that will look at improving the decision making of undergraduates when deciding on what subject to take - we will not force them to take degrees they don’t want to take to meet the demand of the private and public sectors,” Miss Lootah said.

Some young Emiratis said they would consider spending a period of time unemployed rather than take a job they did not want.

“I worry that there might not be jobs in my field after I leave university and there are a lot of jobs in banking or retail, which I haven’t studied for,” said Hussien Ali, a final-year Emirati law student at Ajman University.

A male student from Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Science University, who did not want to be named, said students who do not have family or friends in certain industries could struggle to start a career despite being qualified; this is enough to put him off applying for a positions within organisations where he did not know someone.

“It is about who you know, and if no one in your family or circle of friends is in power or connected to it then you will have to do something extraordinary to be noticed – and even then it’s not guaranteed that you will get a good job,” he said.

According to a study by The Middle East Youth Initiative (MEYI) - a joint partnership between the Dubai School of Government (DSG) and the Wolfensohn Center for Development that was launched in 2006 - the Middle East is losing more than US$25 billion (Dh99bn) a year on youth unemployment alone.

Eissa al Mulla, executive Director of DGNHR said, however, that the lack of interest in positions was “unusual”.

“The authority placed 1,841 nationals last year in major sectors: 804 in banks, 102 in hospitality, 19 in insurance, 26 in real estate, 448 in trade and 406 in various other fields,” he said.

Last month the Dubai Government announced that it is to roll out training and development programmes to help Emiratis secure better jobs and identify their career goals.

Mr al Mulla, urged private sector companies to join in with the schemes and many in the private sector looking to fill their Emiratisation quotas joined.

The government, drawing on the results of studies carried out over the past five years, plans to take basic steps such as offering career advice in schools, offer workshops and recruitment fares with various private sectors.


* The National