Suggestions to meet some of the challenges of Emiratisation

The UAE needs to invest in effective programmes with adequate monitoring leading to measurable benefits, writes Peter Hatherley-Greene

The private sector needs to do a much better job at creating organisational cultures friendly to Emirati employees, says Peter Hatherley-Greene. Silvia Razgova / The National
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Now in his late sixties, Mohammed fondly remembers the time the villagers built a house for him and his bride. He was living in a dusty village high in a mountainous area of Fujairah, surrounded by orchards fed by water running through falaj canals hand-hewn from bare rock. He smiles when he thinks about how the village children were assigned chores to help their parents in the fields or at home.

He tells me the children had a “village of fathers”, and there was an understanding that the responsibility for raising the next generation was shared by everyone. Woe betide any child who stepped out of line or failed to complete their tasks. “Life was hard but simple,” he tells me.

At times, it seems that building cloud-piercing skyscrapers and glittering shopping malls is much easier than constructing society’s human capital.

Despite the massive investment in education, the success of Emiratisation in the public sector and the embedding of equal opportunity for women, many young adults emerge from their teens lacking in important soft skills such as persistence, resilience and self-confidence. What has happened to those skills so ruggedly and proudly possessed by their grandparents?

The employment pipeline into the growing private sector is blocked as wary managers and recruiters struggle to fill positions with seemingly ill-prepared youth. The private sector needs to do a much better job at creating organisational cultures friendly to Emirati employees.

Job creation is a challenge that presents huge opportunities if overcome – and disastrous consequences if not.

There are clear advantages in having local talent working in the private sector. Emiratis are increasingly well educated in key technical domains and they have the potential to unlock local relationships, leading to new clients and business partnerships.

There are no magic bullets or quick fixes. It may take more than two decades for solutions to systemic issues of engagement, family, education, health and the economy to work their way through. There is much to be done, including some of the following suggestions.

People feel they have a stake in something when they invest either their time or money. The introduction of a nominal personal income tax could create a renewed sense of ownership in the country.

The engine room of any society is the family unit. As documented by many researchers, Emirati families appear to be increasingly fragile. Divorce rates are high; dowry costs have led to mixed marriages; the difference in educational levels between the genders has led to an increase in the number of single women.

Married couples need help in relationship development and financial responsibility and, later, in creating home environments where the love of learning flourishes in their children.

Providing crèches at work and early childhood education facilities within communities will ensure all young people obtain the best possible start.

Too many young males are leaving high school to seek employment in the public sector without further education, while young women flood universities and colleges. Full bilingual course delivery at all government institutes, universities and colleges will encourage more men to enrol.

A new federal educational body should implement improvements in school standards and teacher quality, producing a state school system based on prevailing social norms, values and beliefs combined with appropriate global best practices.

High rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes are undermining efforts to build our human capacity. A return to the simple diet of their grandparents will improve children’s physical fitness, mental agility and focus at school.

A tax on sugar, fat and processed foods and drinks should be introduced, and healthy diet and daily exercise should be widely promoted.

Equalising the salary and benefit conditions between the private and public sectors will facilitate movement of public employees to the private sector.

A return to the simple lifestyle and values of a “village of fathers” will produce young adults better equipped to meet the vagaries and ambiguity of modern life head-on.

Just as the village fathers checked that children’s chores had been completed properly, the country needs to invest in effective programmes with adequate monitoring leading to measurable benefits.

Dr Peter J Hatherley-Greene is director of learning at Emarise