ABU DHABI // More than 6,000 job vacancies were on offer for Emirati graduates and professionals at one of the country’s biggest recruitment fairs.
From energy to banking to the railways, talented nationals made sure they were on hand to snap up the opportunities.
And on the final day of the Tawdheef careers fair on Wednesday, a busy steam of Emiratis browsed more than 100 stalls.
“The people here are very helpful,” said Omar Hasan Al Nuaimi, 21. “I came here the first day as well.”
Mr Al Nuaimi, who is studying at Higher Colleges of Technology in Al Ain, is looking for a job in the banking sector.
He said he was pleased to see more positions for those with a high school diploma this year, rather than those looking for just university graduates.
He attended with his sister Afra Al Nuaimi, 23, who was seeking a job with the police.
Abdulla Al Akberi, 26, and Rashid Omar, 23, were both looking for work.
“I am looking for a better job,” said Mr Al Akberi, a civil engineer with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. “Maybe a managerial position.”
As a fresh graduate with a diploma in arts, Mr Omar said he was open to opportunities and had applied for about 10 jobs.
Mariam Al Hamali, 20, said she had attended to see what was on offer and to find out what criteria companies were looking for.
Also looking was Abdulziz Al Kaabi.
“I want to have a job. An interesting job,” said the 20-year-old student at UAE University.
Organisers and company representatives said the Tawdheef fair, now in its seventh year, was a massive success.
At the Taqa booth, four full boxes contained thousands of CVs from Emiratis.
“This year it has been busy,” said Ahmed Al Sarrah, a senior HR manager at the energy company.
“Lots of CVs have been collected. Basically we are tracking two kinds of applicants – the fresh graduates and the experienced UAE nationals.”
Last year the company had received 4,000 applications, about 1,500 of which were fresh graduates. Mr Al Sarrah expected a similar number had been submitted this year.
He said the educational background of an applicant was just one of the many things the company was looking for.
“We want the highest quality talented graduates, so I focus on attitude, interpersonal skills, creativity, decision making – that sort of thing.”
Eithad Rail was one of the major companies exhibiting at the recruitment fair at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
Shamma Al Qubaisi, the company’s HR director, said there had been a lot of interest from Emiratis across all ages wanting to get involved in the billion-dirham project to construct the UAE’s national railway.
“We have been pleased with the response,” she said. “We have seen hundreds of people, and while we have many positions, many people were interested in becoming drivers of the train.”
The company had more than 20 different roles to offer to Emiratis.
“We are one of the biggest projects in the UAE so it was important to have a presence at Tawdheef,” she said.
Mariam Al Marzouqi, Emiratisation manager in HR at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), was delighted by the response.
“The last three days we have received a lot of CVs. We are seeing lots of candidates from the fresh graduate to people who have experience.”
NBAD had 100 different positions to offer the brightest Emirati talent, she said. Ms Al Marzouqi expected the second wave of interviews to begin next week.
Younis Al Hashmi, exhibitions manager at Zayed National Museum, was attracting interest at the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority booth.
“We are trying to get people with high qualifications,” he said. “People with a degree or master’s or even PhD.
“It is important because the culture sector is fairly new here and we want to start the sector strong.”
Hayete Jemai, the exhibition director for Tawdheef, said many organisations conducted on-the-spot interviews to find out if a candidate was the right fit for the company, and many job seekers were recruited on-site.
jbell@thenational.ae
