Number of Emiratis working in private sector increase by 70 percent in 2022

Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, has reinforced the exceptional results achieved by the Nafis programme during 2022, which recorded an unprecedented 70 percent increase in the number of Emiratis working in the private sector.

The impressive results are a result of the integrated strategies of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, headed by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, in line with the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership on putting Emiratis as the top priority in all government policy decisions.

This was announced during a media briefing on Emiratisation held by Al Awar on Thursday. The media briefing was attended by Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary-General of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, in the presence of other officials, and media representatives.

The briefing also revealed the results of the Nafis programme in 2022 and its future targets for 2023 set by the Council’s Board of Directors following their latest meeting, which was chaired by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Board of Directors, in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“Through the mechanisms that the Ministry adopted to implement the strategies and policies of the Council, it has succeeded in bringing about a quantum leap in the business environment in the UAE to enable the creation of new jobs for Emiratis, and at the same time, promoting the growth of the private sector and increasing its share in the country’s GDP,”

Al Awar said.

He stressed that the Ministry continues to develop the country’s model in economic development through partnership between the public and private sectors and implementing measures aimed at enhancing the role of the Emirati talent in the labour market, in general, and in the private sector in particular, in line with the vision of the wise leadership that puts the Emiratis as the top priority in all government policy decisions.

He added that that one of the objectives of the Nafis programme for 2023 is to create at least 24,000 new job opportunities for Emiratis in the private sector.

Speaking during the media briefing, Al Awar said that the results of the Nafis programme, which exceeded expectations, were the result of an integrated strategy in the business environment in the UAE, developed by the Council headed by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, which ensured the development of talents and the creation of qualitative and sustainable jobs for Emiratis in the private sector, which in turn benefited from supportive policies that helped the sector achieve significant economic growth.

He reviewed the most prominent aspects of the strategies that were launched and supervised by the Ministry during 2022. This included the implementation of the Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 regarding the organisation of labour relations last February, followed by the implementation of the Cabinet Resolution No. 18 of 2022 regarding the classification of private sector establishments in the UAE last May, the launch of the new unemployment insurance scheme, and the second phase of the Wage Protection System, the first-of-its-kind in the world.

Al Awar added that these steps formed the pillars of an integrated strategy aimed at

“protecting and strengthening the role of all stakeholders, empowering both sides of the supply and demand equation, and preserving the foundations of the UAE’s unique development model based on partnership between the public and private sectors.”

He also pointed out that these strategies

“increased the private sector’s attractiveness for the Emiratis and resident talents alike, encouraged the launch of new economic sectors, revitalized individual initiatives and small and medium enterprises, and provided the Nafis programme with an integrated environment that enables it to achieve its goals and create a better and more sustainable future for thousands of Emirati talents and their families.”

Noting that the rapid growth in the number of Emiratis joining the private sector was accompanied by a strong growth recorded by the sector, Al Awar said that the distinguished results achieved by the Nafis programme with the cooperation and response of the private sector were accompanied by the strong performance of the country’s economy in 2022.

“We look forward to a new year of achievements that embody the directives of the wise leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who affirmed that the UAE’s people are the focus of the country’s attention and at the top of its priorities since its inception, and it will remain the basis of all its plans for the future,"

Al Awar concluded.

For his part, Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary General of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, reviewed the list of programmes and initiatives of the Nafis programme, including the job opportunities it provides, besides training courses and financial support for many stakeholders, adding that since the launch of Nafis, more than 28,700 Emirati have joined the private sector.

This has contributed to recording an unprecedented increase of 70 percent in the number of Emiratis working in the private sector, totalling more than 50,000 Emiratis, he said.

Al Mazrouei added that the number of beneficiaries of financial support programs amounted to 32,566 Emiratis. The contributions of companies that did not commit to achieving the Emiratisation targets, which amounted to AED 400 million (as of January 2023). A total of 8,897 companies achieved the targeted Emiratisation growth rate for 2022.

Al Mazrouei pointed out that the success in the healthcare sector was one of the most prominent achievements of the programme, with the inclusion of 1,300 male and female students in the health sector cadre development program and 643 trainees through the Kafaat programme.

He added,

“Over the past year, the successful process of building data on the Nafis platform continued to become an integrated window for the business environment in the country. The number of partners registered on the Nafis platform reached 7,017 companies, while 17,481 job vacancies were offered through the platform, in addition to signing 24 agreements with strategic partners, including six agreements with participating universities within the healthcare sector support programme and four agreements with strategic partners in the semi-governmental sector to provide more than 11,000 jobs through outsourcing companies and suppliers.”

Al Mazrouei concluded,

“While the results of Nafis exceeded expectations in the last year, we hope that it will have greater and deeper impact in 2023. The Emiratisation targets in the private sector, which were adopted by the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council during its meeting for 2023, are looking forward to creating at least 24,000 new job opportunities for Emiratis in various sectors.”

The Board of Directors of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council held its first meeting of 2023 during which it reviewed the most important policies and decisions that have been issued since the launch of the Nafis programme, which had a significant impact on reaching the latest results, the most important of which are the Cabinet resolutions regarding Emiratisation target rates and imposing contributions on establishments that are not committed to achieving the rates percentages.

The Council also discussed the mechanisms applied by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in detecting violations of Emiratisation policies and the results of the monitoring and compliance system regarding the commitment to Emiratisation in the private sector for 2022.

The meeting also reviewed the most important studies and strategic plans prepared by the Council during 2022 – mainly the supply and demand plans for the labour market in the 2022-2026 period and the most attractive sectors for Emiratisation efforts.

News Source: Emirates News Agency