Emiratisation instantly reminds us of recruitment issues of Emiratis in the United Arab Emirates. Emiratisation rules, are one of the most known nationwide programs, started in the UAE a few years ago. The primary purpose behind this program is to ensure proper assimilation of the workforce in the UAE labour market.
Emiratisation is among the significant priorities of various semi-government, private, and corporate bodies in the United Arab Emirates. Indeed, the UAE has encouraged the private and public sectors to implement Emiratisation policies at various levels. Organizations can do it by establishing special departments, incentives, and quotas for recruited Emiratis.
The UAE Government’s official portal has defined Emiratisation as a campaign for mandating the employment of Emiratis in various job sectors, especially private ones. One of the best facts is that this campaign will help increase Emiratis’ percentage in the overall national job market. Thus, Emiratis will be able to contribute much more to the national economy.
The application of Emiratisation will affect the private sectors most. Private companies having 20 or more employees will need to fulfill the UAE National quota by hiring at least 1 Emirati in 2024 and another in the following year. The companies in the private sector must stick to the UAE national point system.
Emiratisation is vital to future generations, especially in the nation, where the number of expatriates is higher than that of the nationals. The Ruler of Dubai and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the campaign in 2010. UAE Vision 2021 has several pillars: to develop a knowledge-based, competitive economy driven by skilled and innovative nationals. Emiratisation will play a role in reaching this target. Al Maktoum also ensures that the potential jobseekers among the Emiratis have become economically independent and are enjoying the best professional life.
Emiratisation is good news for the emerging generations. Moreover, there will be a rise in the number of employed and educated UAE nationals. We may find a tenfold increase in this number by the year 2030. Emiratis can now have better access to various vocational training programs to get jobs in the private sector.
The Ministry of Human Resource Authority (MoHRA), developed in 2005, follows UAE Prime Minister Al Maktoum’s vision for building a skilled workforce with UAE nationals. Thus, it can present opportunities for sustainable employment. Since the public sector companies have reached the optimized employment level, the private companies in Dubai have to actively participate in increasing the recruitment of UAE nationals. Moreover, MoHRA has made the best effort to grow positive impressions of public sector recruiters and make them more focused on the Emirati staff.
The Emiratisation law, declared by UAE Minister (Human Resources and Emiratisation), has mentioned that it will be unlawful to dismiss UAE nationals in the following situations:
- The company has dismissed an Emiratisation for reasons unrelated to the job, particularly when the UAE national has shown strong logic against the employer, ignoring them.
- The employer has dismissed the UAE national to replace him with another foreign candidate to do that job.
- The employer or recruiter has presently a foreign employee whose duty is the same as that of the UAE national who has been discontinued.
Thus, the employers of all companies in the United Arab Emirates have to know about these laws while employing any candidate or dismissing an employee. It will help them avoid any legal issues in the future.
Read More: 2023 Emiratization rules in UAE | RFS HR Consultancy Dubai
Why UAE Government Is Focusing More on Emiratisation
Why should non-nationals get higher priority than nationals in any job sector? That is why UAE labour law has taken the best step for Emiratisation recruitment. The Ministry of Labour in the UAE prevents organizations from recruiting foreign candidates beyond the set limit. This rule is highly applicable when unemployed nationals can fulfill the company’s requirements.
In the past years, we have seen many government efforts to promote Emiratisation campaigns in the UAE. ENDP and Tawteen UAE are the two most common initiatives of the government.
Although several UAE nationals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have good educational backgrounds, they still need help obtaining a job in the present market. This is one of the reasons why the UAE is giving more value to Emiratisation for achieving success in current and future economic growth. The policy of the administrative body of the country is to communicate with the major stakeholders to provide the Emiratis with several employment opportunities. The number of Emirati graduates is increasing every year, and they have to find a chance to secure better jobs.
What are the significant issues for private companies to retain Emiratis?
Although there are signs of success in the Emiratisation campaign, Sheikh Mohammed has encouraged the UAE to overcome the persisting challenges. You may have found an increase in the recruitment of UAE nationals in the past few months in both public and private sector companies. However, it is still a tiny percentage of the workforce in the private sector that comprises Emiratis. Interestingly, employers in private companies are too busy recruiting UAE nationals. The primary reason behind it is that it has recently become mandatory for them to employ Emirati candidates.
Many employers have claimed that identifying and attracting the best Emirati talent takes a lot of work. Although several job hunters exist, employers need help finding relevant skills and talents. For this reason, they have to be tactical in their approach. Now, in the case of Emirati talent, the candidates search for employer brands, learning initiatives, and corporate culture.
One of the most notable things is that Emirati job applicants are more conscious of the brand. They dream of working with companies and having a higher brand reputation. Emiratis always focus on companies with regular development and training programs and explicit success stories. They also think that the employers of these companies are trustworthy. Thus, this is one of the problems causing a barrier to the success of Emiratisation.
Most private companies have faced the following challenges while retaining their Emirati staff: We have listed some of those challenges:
- There is no proper culture for professional coaching
- Insensitivity to managing the diversity in culture
- There is no willingness in some employees to work for longer hours
- Pressures in the personal life
- No performance-oriented philosophy
- Competition with other workers in the company
- Odd uniforms and shift schedules
- Absence of collaboration and teamwork
- The negative attitude of manager and leader
- No perceived development in the career
Removing these challenges will result in the success of the Emiratisation campaign.
The Ways of Improving the Staff Retention Rate the Emiratis-
Career counseling and proper guidance: Most companies think implementing a career development path is essential to retaining Emiratis in the organization. Thus, the companies can provide career guidance to the employees, which will be effective for the better development of the organization.
Evaluation of employees: While the employees will play a role in a company, it is essential to assess them. It ensures that they have aligned their goals with those of the organization. This assessment also checks whether the employees have the skills and academic qualifications needed for the post. The organizations will find the best candidates for the available vacant positions by meeting the assessment criteria.
Professional-level mentoring and coaching: These two things are valuable for encouraging active communication, identifying mistakes, building confidence, and giving rewards. Thus, inspiring the Emiratis to convey their concerns with the right mentoring approach can help the organizations thrive.
Thus, these are how a company can retain the number of Emiratis in its overall workforce.
More Steps from the Government–
To encourage the Emiratisation campaign, the cabinet in the UAE has declared that it is essential to create a committee to follow the directives of Sheikh Mohammed. The committee has to submit a scheme to Sheikh Mohammed to affect the performance level of private and public organizations positively. Sheikh Mohammed has realized that they must check out the performance report as they have identified the challenges. We need to compare Emiratisation to a type of mutual partnership. Thus, every company has to be responsible for building this Emirati workforce.
Some employers must focus on Emiratisation only to fill in a quote. However, they must ensure they choose the right person for the job. Thus, they need to hire Emiratis in a work environment relevant to their skills. This would also result in the professional development of Emiratis in the future.
The present competitive situation may make it easy to achieve the target, as the companies need help to employ skilful Emiratis. The best solution to the problem is creating a collaborative approach to Emiratisation and finding human resources.
The Recent Situation for Emiratisation–
In 2019, the best corporations in the United Arab Emirates said that they are serious about offering training and job opportunities to Emiratis. They are also arranging an on-spot interview session at Dubai World Trade Centre.
The 3-day exhibitions, held in March of 2019, have announced the vacancies of thousands of jobs in various private sector companies. Presently, Emirates Airlines have also taken steps to work with the Ministry. They have welcomed university graduates and high school Emirati students for the training programs.
Emiratisation Recruitment Agency: How are they helpful to the Emiratis and employers?
Emiratisation recruitment agencies have several professionals with specialized knowledge of UAE National hiring. Those professionals also know about the issues related to the hiring process. There is cultural sensitivity concerning this employment procedure. The best agencies have the most extensive network and can connect with several Emiratis nationwide. You may be one of the employers searching for UAE nationals, or you are one of the UAE National job applicants. For both these cases, you may speak to the Emiratisation recruitment agency.
How RFS HR Consultancy Helps In Emiratisation-
RFS HR Consultancy is one of the top recruitment and executive search service with the best professionals to help recruit Emiratis in your business. The agency works with many employers and presents them with the latest data on various talented Emirati candidates for filling vacancies. They also inform the employers about the candidates’ demographics, including their employment background, educational qualifications, eligibility, and availability. At the same time, RFS deals with the candidates to guide them with the proper on boarding.
RFS has a rich team to research Emiratisation recruitment in various fields, including construction, architecture, healthcare, oil and gas, supply chain, IT, and several more top tier industries.
Moreover, RFS has employed a high-end recruitment process to meet the staffing needs. The team can provide you with candidates for junior and senior-level positions. They have distinguished themselves in the present recruitment industry based on steadiness and trustworthiness.
In conclusion, to make Emiratisation successful and beneficial for private companies, motivating and inclusion of locals in the workforce is essential. The UAE can reach its target with the encouragement of personal and academic success. Our team is also proud of participating in the approach of Emiratisation. Companies and employers can rely on our team to find the best talents for the available jobs.
