Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE, once said: “Human capital is the real wealth of this country, before and after oil.
“Serving the interests of citizens is the goal that we strive for every day. Building human resources is central to comprehensive social and economic development.”
With this in mind as another edition of the recruitment, training and education exhibition Careers UAE begins, several of the country’s leading organisations will actively look to engage with, as well as hire, talented Emiratis over the coming days.
The country’s nationalisation agenda and the UAE Vision 2021 has become even more significant, particularly with the introduction of the government accelerators programme by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Recently it was reported that more than 900 Emirati men and women were employed by banking and financial institutions in just 75 days through government accelerators. This is an incredible achievement and sets the foundation for many more such success stories for the future.
Traditionally, Emiratis have been more inclined to pursue jobs in the government sector rather than private. However, I believe that it is a matter of time before this theme varies, particularly with the ministry placing more of an emphasis on improving the training and development of Emiratis to meet the required skills for private-sector jobs.
I am deeply invigorated by the recent changes in regulations for the banking industry in particular, which ensure that now is the best time for the next generation to join the sector. The modifications, which have already come into effect this year, are an immense step towards ensuring that Emiratis realise gradual progression throughout their banking careers, and enable them to assume future leadership roles. These new regulations will place a new emphasis on quality, rather than only on the quantity, of jobs created, or what was previously merely a filling up of a quota, a certain percentage.
Under the new system, the banks will now be rewarded with points for developing the skill set of their Emirati workforce through investment in development and training, the number of Emiratis in the institution and whether they have Emiratis in more senior or even managerial roles along with the aspect of leadership commitment. This ensures that there is a real focus on the type of job that is being created, the development of the candidate’s career and an improvement of their overall skill set.
I can only see it helping the development of our next generation – as they will be the country’s future – and this sound strategy ensures that Emiratis are given chances at the highest level, along with the required training to get to the position.
The emphasis on training is also all the more imperative now, with many regulatory changes in the financial and banking sector expected to open more high-skilled jobs. For example, roles such as financial planning and analysis managers, financial business partners and senior tax professionals, among others, are reported to be in high demand as the region prepares for the introduction of value added tax in 2018 and the continuing implementation of Basel III and IFRS 9.
By introducing these changes, the challenges and barriers affecting the inclusion and development of Emiratis have been far removed. The result is an industry that will allow our future leaders the ability to have a road map towards achieving the next level of skills and progression in their careers. This is key not just to building qualified Emiratis, but developing the knowledge economy envisioned by the Government.
Hind Al Attar is the head of human resources at Noor Bank.
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