The Mohammad Bin Zayed Majlis for Future Generation represented a unique gathering, especially in terms of its themes with its focus on youth and their future issues.

In his keynote, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, highlighted national, humanitarian, social and economic aspects that together can bring about a paradigm shift in the country’s domains.

Shaikh Mohammad referred to a very significant social and economic issue related to work culture, which is being given extreme attention to by several countries for its impact on living standards and general economic conditions.

It is well known the Gulf’s oil wealth changed the social perception of work and resulted in many citizens dumping some professions that had been practised by their ancestors. However, such professions made up a part of the work culture and an indispensable element of the local heritage that we cherish so much. They also represented a significant part of our national identity.

For example, the first oil wells were drilled under extreme conditions by our ancestors, through which some of them gained technical skills in the oil industry. Shaikh Mohammad’s words, when he said a citizen could work in any profession, is a clarion call to return to authenticity and work values that would result in significant economic gains.

A lot of abandoned professions that require acquirable skills can generate satisfying returns, such as electrical works and repairing tech devices. I remember an Asian technician in Dubai, who works in the installation and repairing of cable TV devices. I happened to asked him about his living conditions when he came once to repair some faults.

He replied: “Thanks God, I have just finished building my own house in my home country.” He even showed me pictures of that and when I saw how big it was, I said: “Wow! It is not a normal house but a palace with spacious gardens. He smiled and said: “Everyone says the same.”

Several professions can bring multiple returns compared to jobs. We expect so many locals to respond to the country’s approaches summarised in Shaikh Mohammad’s speech and by doing so, great gains will be achieved. The first of which is modifying the structure and balance of the labour market between citizens and expats.

Second is reducing remittances, and thus supporting the balance of payments and enhancing the financial situation and citizen savings. And developing their small and medium projects which are the backbone of modern economies.

Such an approach will help develop non-oil sectors and represents a necessary step for the post-oil era after exporting the last drop of oil, as noted by Shaikh Mohammad on a different occasion.

This means such an approach does not have something to do with acquiring new professions but also bringing about a radical change in work culture. Thereby respecting all professions irrespective of how small they are and resulting in positive economic and social impact, especially on generations to come.

Besides the impressive turnout from citizens, there are many institutions in the labour market that can help expedite the implementation of such a future-oriented vision with its developmental and social dimensions.

With that being turned into reality, work culture will be re-evaluated around advanced technical skills that are in line with the country’s approaches, They will even focus on youths’ relation with techniques from the past that made the country occupy dominant positions across domains.

Dr Mohammad Al Asoomi is a UAE economic expert and specialist in economic and social development in the UAE and the GCC countries.