EMIRATIZATION

INTRODUCTION

Emiratisation - It is a policy which “aims to reduce the country’s reliance on expatriate labor and increase the participation of nationals in the labor market. It is a quota driven employment policy which ensures that UAE nationals are given employment opportunities in the private sector.

Otherwise, Emiratisation was introduced to increase the presence of Emiratis in the job market mainly in Financial Sector and Commercial companies.

Emiratisation started in 2000. By 2004, “the banking sector was directed to hire UAE nationals in all branch manager positions before the end of 2004. Until 2006 Emiratization was restricted to Banking and Financial sector.

One of the key policies in Emiratization is the quota system

IMPLEMENTATION MODEL FOR EMIRATIZATION

EMIRATIZATION FRAMEWORK

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Among GCC Countries UAE and Qatar ranks lowest in terms of citizen as percentage of total population with 20% and 25% respectively.

• Oman (80%) followed by Saudi Arabia (77%) ranks the highest in terms of citizen as percentage of total population

• Entire GCC has over 30% Expat population

• Dubai in particular has the highest percentage of Expats to the total population in the world

• Over 99% of the Dubai population is below 65 years of age

• Male to Female ratio in the Dubai is the highest in the world

• Average growth of population in Dubai is about 7% which is the highest in the world

• More than 50% of the Dubai Workforce are from India• Pakistanis are in the second place followed by people from South East Asian Countries like Indonesia,

Thailand etc.• Only 10% of the Workforce accounts for Arabs while the UAE Nationals are just about 2%

DUBAI Vs EXPATS

• Ministry of Labour

• TANMIA - National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority

• The Abu Dhabi Emiratization Council

• Emirates National Development Programme (Dubai)

• Department for Human Resources Development (Sharjah)

EMIRATIZATION – FUNCTIONAL BODIES

Established by a decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan on 15th November, 1999

Objectives and Functions

• Create job opportunities for UAE National Workforce

• Reduce the unemployment ratio

• Enhance the Skills and productivity of the National workforce; and

• Recommend relevant policies to the UAE Federal Government

Vision

To become a pioneer and leading country in the development and empowerment of national human resources (HR) towards a qualified and competitive workforce.

Mission

To support the Government’s endeavors by effective planning of HR policies and developing strategic partnerships to achieve national development (HRD) objectives

Strategic Goals

• Developing the capabilities and competencies of national workforce and guide them professionally in accordance with the requirements of the labor current and future market.

• Employing the national cadres who are seeking for work according to the labor market’s needs.

• Provide information, accurate data and innovative solutions in the field of promoting nationalization and the development of relevant policies.

• Ensure all administrative services in accordance with the standards of quality, efficiency and transparency.

TANMIA

The Centre for Labor Market Research and Information

Conducts studies and research work related to the labor market in the UAE

Plays a fundamental role in providing information that support employment of UAE nationals, within the broader role of TANMIA

Objectives

• Play a vital role in TANMIA's efforts to enhance the performance of national human resources in the labor market

• Develop and maintain labor market information (LMI) that fulfill the objectives of TANMIA, other government and private institutions and the society at large

• Lead and monitor Emiratization process by creating a database of target companies, as well as review the performance of these companies and prepare periodic reports on their achievements

• Act as a think tank and information centre for the Government in all matters related to employment policies, skills development and labor market performance

• Study global developments on employment and labor markets to make use of other experiences in developing policies and procedures in the UAE

• Contribute effectively in the intellectual activity through issuing publications and organizing discussion forums

CLMRI

Launched to enhance the participation of UAE citizens in the labor market under the guidance of the President of UAE

GOALS:

• Achieve social stability for UAE citizens and their families

• Support the government’s strategies and procedures for Emiratization

• Diversify the job opportunities for UAE citizens

STRATEGIC PILLARS OF THE INITIATIVE:

• Job Opportunities Creation for UAE citizens

Ministry of Presidential Affairs, to be implemented in collaboration with private companies in order to hire new Emirati graduates in the private sector.

• Training and Development

To support and prepare graduates by increasing their levels of efficiency in line with labour market

requirements

• Counseling and Vocational Guidance for job Seekers and Discounts and Special Offers for Private Companies

To reduce the challenges of hiring new graduates by improving their skills and raising their efficiency along

with smoother transition from university life to working life.

Encourage private companies to play a greater role in community service programmes

• Encouraging the UAE citizens to work in the Private Sector

Accelerate the pace of Emiratisation and motivate Emiratis to join the private sector by offering attractive incentives to those Emiratis working in this sector

ABSHER INITIATIVE

Government Jobs Private Jobs

The governments are major employers of citizens throughout the GCC with over 50% of the workforce are the Nationals

the UAE nationals represent no more than 2% of the workforce

Better salaries and working conditions Low Salary and poor working conditions

Shorter working hours and more flexibility Extended work hours with little or no flexibility

Better non-monetary benefits Limited career development prospects

PUBLIC SECTOR VS PRIVATE SECTOR

The Private Companies prefer Expats for skilled and unskilled jobs over the Nationals.

Emiratis hold only about 1.5 per cent of the jobs in the private sector

Of about 3.8 million private-sector jobs, only about 20,000 were held by Emiratis, mostly in the financial sector or in state-owned companies

The private sector provides the majority of jobs in the UAE, accounting for about 63 per cent of the total workforce

Reasons for Private Companies preferring Expats over Emiratis

• Nationals are less productive while more expensive than the Expats

• Under-Skilled and Unmotivated

• Low fluency in English and Low Levels of Trust

• Expatriate wages in the private sector are about 60 per cent lower than those given nationals

• By 2009, over 90% of the Emirati workforce were employed by federal or local governments

PRIVATE COMPANIES VS EMIRATIZATION

UAE’s banking sector has been set an ambitious 50 percent Emiratization target by the year 2008

In 2007, companies with more than 100 employees were told that they “should employ only Emiratis in their human resource department, and move towards implementing the same rule for secretarial roles

Under the New Labor Law, the Labor department will have the right and duty to check these quotas when conducting inspections of workplaces

By 2007, the government “stepped up the enforcement of existing rules, cutting fees for companies that complied and freezing all relation with the Labor Ministry with those that did not – a painful deterrent, since it is illegal to bring new expatriate workers into the country without government approval

Emiratization and Levy Payroll Fees - putting tax on employing expats and providing discounts and financial gain for employing Nationals

Labor Ministry introduced a new classification system for companies in December 2010 to regulate the job market. They divided it into three categories.

o Opening up new professional jobs for Emiratis and avoiding ‘mock Emiratization

o Classification of Companies as A, B and C

A if it does not commit itself to this policy by at least 25 per cent of the demand. 25-50% as B and more than 50% as C

o The resolution ranks the firms according to their adherence to certain conditions – the professional workforce (top three categories) should not be less than 20 per cent of the total manpower; and a worker's monthly salary should not be less than Dh12,000 in level 1, Dh7,000 in level 2 and Dh5,000 in level 3; and Emiratization rate should not be under 15 per cent in these levels.

EMIRATIZATION POLICIES

Only 12 per cent of employees in the UAE are Emirati nationals

By 2020, an additional 250,000 Emiratis are expected to join the 310,000 already in the workforce (270,000 with jobs and 40,000 without), bringing the total number of Emiratis needing jobs to 560,000.

As on Oct, 2013 there were 40000 Emiratis who are jobless. The unemployment rate among UAE citizens was as high as 13.8 per cent while that in expatriates it was only 2.6 per cent

According to 2011 Labor report, nearly 20000 of the 4 Million people in private businesses are Emiratis.

According to the 2009 UAE Economic Report released in March 2010, while 53 per cent of the population are employed, 19.9 per cent have no desire to work in either the public or private sectors. The employment rate among expatriate workers is 79 per cent and 45 per cent among UAE nationals. The report highlighted that the majority of the unemployed are fresh graduates below 25 years. The economically active workforce is aged between 25 and 54 years – 42 per cent of whom are women.

National women have boosted their share of the job market to a record 13.9 per cent as they push their way into the labour market.

A World Bank report showed that Emiratis in the public sector make the highest monthly wages, averaging Dh15,600 (US$4,247), while Emiratis in the private sector follow, averaging Dh10,450, and expatriate workers -who range from laborers to executives - form the lowest tier, averaging Dh4,500.

UAE has one of the world's highest GDP per capita incomes, standing at around Dh150,000 in 2009, second-largest in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia

According to a 2003 government study, 96.5% of students at Abu Dhabi Women’s Higher Colleges of Technology said that they wanted to work after graduation, but only 11.5% favored the private sector.

FACTS & FIGURES

To increase the current number of UAE nationals working in the private sector by tenfold by the year 2021

To provide approximately 20,000 jobs for citizens in the coming period

To encourage entrepreneurship among young UAE nationals to further strengthen their participation in leading the national economy

Small and Medium size Enterprise development has been encouraged through improvements in the business environment, the development of a federal law for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the increased access to finance from sources such as Khalifa Fund and the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

VISION 2020

KPI Definition 2012 Result Target 2020

Non-Oil Real GDP Growth Annual economic growth of all sectors except oil 2.72% 5%

Gross National Income (GNI) per Capita

Average income per person in a country 13th Rank Among Top 10 countries

Global Competitiveness Index

An indicator that assesses the competitiveness of countries based on 12 different areas

19th Rank Among Top 10 countries

Share of UAE Nationals in the workforce

UAE nationals employed out of the total workforce 4.3% 8%

Emiratisation Rate in the Private Sector

An indicator that measures the share of UAE nationals employed in the private sector

0.65% 5%

Share of "Knowledge Workers" in the labor force

The share of highly skilled workers of the total workforce

20.3% 40%

LEADERS COMMENTS

As important as secretarial jobs are, and all jobs are important, we need to have UAE nationals in more important roles and responsibilities –

Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Makhtoum

The growth patterns that create jobs for a majority of unskilled workers have to change if strategies to tackle unemployment and population imbalance are to succeed. University graduates employed in the private sector accounted for only 10 per cent of the workforce. Workers with qualifications lower than secondary school certificates make up 51 per cent of the workforce. For the next five years, nationalisation programmes may provide enough jobs for citizens, but the real challenge will be creating attractive and productive jobs in the private sector for the new entrants to the labor market in the long run

Our ethical and legal mandate requires us to strive to explore and roll out mechanisms that embody the sincere commitment of the political leadership to put in place a safe and stable environment and to protect rights of all categories in the community. The new classification system was designed after consultation with prominent local labor market experts and embraced best practices from experiences of international community and neighboring countries. While the old system revolved primarily on the cultural diversity mix in firms, the new one allows the firm to move higher on the classification scale giving them a slew of rewards based on their commitment to certain standards like Emiratization, wages and housing

Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash Labour Minister

Around 298,000 jobs will be created for UAE citizens in seven industries including media, real estate, financial services, tourism, health care and energy.

As on December, 2013, some 65,000 jobs or 9.5 per cent of the total private sector jobs in the emirate can immediately be filled by Emiratis because these jobs are high paying and skills required are matching those of the citizens on the ADTC's database.

Dr. Abdullah Amer Al BishrHead of the Strategy, Planning and PolicyAbu Dhabi Tawteen Council

Closing the wage gap between the two sectors would remove what is considered a barrier to luring Emiratis away from government jobs.

Humaid Bin DeemasDirector of Labor AffairsMinistry of Labour

We now do more work with the local Emiratization department on introducing career counselling and guidance in the school level. Many locals are dropping out of school and by not graduating from high school, they are unable either to continue their higher education or to find a good job.

Mr. Essa Al MullaExecutive Director Emirates National Development Programme

SINGAPORE – TALENT

DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAM

The Continuing Education and Training (CET) Master plan is a comprehensive plan to prepare the Singapore workforce for the future and maintain a competitive advantage for Singapore.

CET will enable our workers, including rank-and-file workers and professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) to remain employable with new and better skills.

Objectives:

• The workforce of the future– nearly 50% of Singapore resident workforce will have at least a diploma qualification by 2020, compared to 36% in 2007.

• To equip Singaporeans with the skills for job opportunities in new growth industries, whether they are preparing for new jobs, switching careers or acquiring new skills.

The CET campuses will serve as:

A Gateway for all workers, from rank-and-file to PMETs to discover career opportunities, and access relevant training that will help them stay employable and progress in their careers.

A Hub of high quality CET providers clustered under one roof, leveraging one another to link up the wider network of providers around the island.

An Employment Exchange for employers to meet their manpower needs and for workers to seek out good job opportunities

A One-Stop Centre integrating career coaching, training, assessment and career services.

The campuses are expected to provide about a combined total of 150,000 training places annually

The Government will partner leading education and training providers, from both the public and private sectors, to set up quality CET centres for growth industries as well as expand existing CET centres to offer high quality and industry-relevant training courses.

THE CONTINUING EDUCATION AND TRAINING

BENEFITS OF CET

EMPLOYEES EMPLOYERS

A constant resource throughout their working life: o Find out the latest on jobs and training; o Seek advise from career consultantso Attend industry and career talks.

Recruit well-trained workers or send existing workers to pick up new skills

Select from a full range of courses; from certificate to diploma and even degree.

Work with training providers on other initiatives such as traineeships and apprenticeships.

Increase their versatility and productivity: o “Mix and match” modular courses to meet their exact needso “Cross train” for related jobs.

For employers planning new investments or expansion: Jointly develop customized courses and train a pipeline of skilled workers for their business needs.

Access to training by relevant CET providers (including tertiary institutions, such as Polytechnics and ITE) via referrals and collaborations.

Deal with a single party at the campus, which can package services to meet current and future needs.

Train in real workplace settings through tie-ups between campuses and companies.

Join informal “learning circles” to hear and learn from the best in their profession in Singapore and around the world.

Showcase their skills and knowledge to potential employers.

Established in September 2003, during the early 2000s economic crisis to help its workforce cope through training and skills upgrading.

WDA was given a clear mission to lead, drive and champion workforce development, enhancing the employability and competitiveness of Singapore's workforce

Objectives:

• To keep training relevant

• To strengthen the Continuing Education and Training (CET) infrastructure

• To help workers find jobs

WDA's current focus is to support sustainable and productivity-driven growth through CET. In the push for inclusive growth, WDA continues to help low-wage workers who require assistance to adapt to a fast changing economy. At the same, we will also look into expanding our offerings to help the PMEs.

Focus Areas:

• Supporting PMEs to be more adaptable and mobile

• Strengthening and deepening specialized skills

• Promoting enterprise productivity improvements

• Assisting low-wage workers

• Raising the quality of our CET system

• Development of a world-class CET infrastructure

THE SINGAPORE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (WDA)

PRISM

• Represents a group of productivity-related programmes

• Targeted primarily at managerial and supervisory-level staff

• e.g. 6 sigma, lean management, TQM etc.

CI FRESCO

• Enhanced course fee funding support extended to freelancers within the Creative Industries

• To boost skills upgrading and productivity among freelancers at lower cost

Max Talent

• A 2-year place-and-train programme by WDA and Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) to place Singaporean Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) into Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

STEP

• Skills Training for Excellence Programme

• To help Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) from entry-level managers to senior-level executives to update their skills, knowledge and expertise so that they can remain competitive and employable

PRIME

• Productivity and Innovation Programme to help companies sustain innovation-led and productivity-driven improvement and growth

• A joint effort by Singapore Business Federation (SBF), Human Capital Singapore (HCS), Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and Employment and Employability Institute (e2i)

WDA – PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES

WSQ is a national credentialing system, developed and managed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA)

WSQ system trains, develops, assesses and recognises individuals for competencies that companies are looking for

Based on national standards developed by the Workforce Development Authority (WDA) in collaboration with various industries, WSQ comprises industry sectoral frameworks which serve to:

Professionalize the industry, where industry lacked recognised Continuing Education and Training (CET) qualifications

Enhance labour market flexibility and skills portability in growing industry with high demand for skilled workers and professionals

WSQ system is designed to be practical, accessible and affordable, enabling every individual to take charge of their own career and advancement

A tool for employers to access and maintain a skilled workforce, thus enhancing their competitive edge and advancing their businesses.

THE SINGAPORE WORKFORCE SKILLS

QUALIFICATIONS (WSQ)

CONCLUSION

The most important factors for successful Emiratisation are

• Encouraging Private Companies to recruit more Nationals

• Encouraging Nationals to join Private Companies through favourable work environment

• Developing a Skilled and Talented workforce by effective Training

• Encouraging women to work

• Encouraging Entrepreneurship among Nationals

• Setting up a favorable situation for Business Start Ups

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GLOSSARY

Rishad AR

Dubai