ABU DHABI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has called on the private sector to take part in initiatives which help get more Emiratis into the workplace.
At the launch of the "Absher" Initiative in Abu Dhabi yesterday, Sheikh Mohammed praised the UAE's campaign to promote Emiratisation and thanked the President, Sheikh Khalifa, for his role in prioritising creating employment opportunities for nationals, the state news agency Wam reported.
"For him, the citizen comes the first, second and third, and the Absher is a great initiative," Sheikh Mohammed said.
The Absher initiative is a programme aimed at strengthening Emiratisation, particularly in the private sector.
Describing the private sector support as an important factor in the development of the national economy, Sheikh Mohammed also called on the companies who have not yet joined the initiative to come forward and join it without delay, Wam reported.
He added that the private sector controls about five million jobs and is the biggest operator in the country.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, was also on hand to launch the initiative.
"We have secured 1,186 jobs for Emirati jobseekers so far since May 2012, and we are looking to hire 20,000 Emiratis within five years in the private sector," Sheikh Mansour said.
The initiative will be based on four main pillars: job creation, training and rehabilitating the Emirati workforce, encouraging nationals to join the private sector and launching strategic partnerships with the private sector and government agencies.
The launch comes after Sheikh Mohammed announced earlier this week that Emiratisation would become a national priority in the coming during a meeting of the Cabinet.
"The most important characteristic of the founding fathers and the most important lesson we learned from them is that the citizen is the priority and we should give importance to building humans before building edifices," Sheikh Mohammed said.
"We announced today ... that the year 2013 will be a year of creating jobs for UAE nationals, that will be a national priority for which all efforts must unite."
