Of late, there is a growing debate over Emiratisation and whether it has achieved its anticipated objectives. Although, its policies started in the 1980s, Emiratisation has never been defined in term of type of jobs that need to be Emiratised, the adequate place of implementing Emiratisation, whether in the private or public sectors or both, or even the declaration of a national strategy that encompasses federal and local Emiratisation programmes. However, and in order to understand the situation from a wider perspective, it is important to clarify that the UAE is not the only country in the region that faces strategic challenges to its national security as a result of the imbalance in demographic situation.
In addition to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman have implemented various programmes to replace foreign employees with nationals. Mainly, this situation was created because of the relatively small native population that was not, and still not, sufficient to meet the huge and growing requirements of the developmental plans. In the UAE and according to the 2005 census, there is an approximate population of 4,104,695 including about 824,921 nationals (20.1 per cent of total population) and 3,279,774 foreigners (79.9 per cent of total population).
In the meantime, the number of national graduates and job-seekers has been increasing without clear actions to absorb them in many areas in the local labour market. By the end of the 2003-04 academic year, UAE nationals comprised the majority of higher education graduates. They were 8,661 or 66 per cent of 13,143 graduates from all public and private higher education institutions. This situation has drastically changed, particularly within public higher education institutions. For example, in the last three academic years, the total number of national graduates from the United Arab Emirates University only was 7,314 nationals.
National job seekers
In terms of the national job seekers, available statistics indicate that from 2000 to April 2005, approximately 29,682 UAE nationals registered at the National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority, known as Tanmia, seeking the appropriate jobs. That number included 24,020 nationals who did not work before. In addition, there were approximately 11,700 who had graduated from higher education institutions and other further education institutions. A general look at the labour market indicates that the percentage of both national and expatriate workforce was about 9.3 per cent and 90.7 per cent respectively in 2004. For the past four years, there is no doubt that the number of foreign employees has considerably increased due to the significant development plans the country encounters.
It is important to indicate that since the 1980s, the government acknowledged the necessity of having more nationals in the labour market. Therefore, the policy of Emiratisation was introduced by the government to emphasise the priority for nationals to work in the labour market. In 1997 and 1999, the UAE adopted two major processes. The first was establishing the Committee for Human Resources Development in the Banks Sector (CHRDB) which aimed to have 50 per cent of banking jobs performed by the UAE citizens by the year 2007. The second process was in 1999, when a Presidential Decree established Tanmia that focuses on developing the capabilities and skills of the UAE manpower in order to create the required balance in the labour market. However, during the past few years, some emirates have established local authorities to encourage Emiratisation at the local level, such as Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Council, and Emirates National Development Programme in Dubai.
I believe that no one would deny the sincere efforts by the UAE decision makers to pave the career path of thousands of national graduates and job seekers and to facilitate their recruitment, particularly in the private sector. Federal and local authorities who are specialised in Emiratisation are working to register, train and nominate nationals for the appropriate jobs. However, I believe the way to accomplish the expected goals of Emiratisation is still far away and there is a strategic need for a national strategy that considers some essential issues.
Firstly, we need to define what we really mean by Emiratisation; what type and level of jobs that should be Emiratised; the time frame for Emiratisation; and who are the partakers within this policy. Then, quota of recruiting nationals should not be limited within the banking sector only, but we need to witness implementing the same process gradually within other sectors in the labour market. A well-planned and comprehensive national awareness campaign should be conducted within the private sector and higher education institutions.
Although there are some employers who support the policy of Emiratisation and work together with national specialised authorities to train and recruit nationals; still many other employers need to understand the importance of Emiratisation. Higher education institutions should also recognise the developments in the labour market and then revise their programmes based on the actual needs of industries. Besides, we need to establish a connection with our neighbouring countries that have similar national programmes of Emiratisation and learn from their experience.
Finally, there is a fundamental requirement for updated statistics and information about the labour market so that Emiratisation will be based upon scientific studies.
Abdullah Alshaiba is a UAE national academic and thinker.
