Dubai: How companies can register for the Taqdeer Award – step-by-step guide

Dubai: With the launch of the sixth cycle of Taqdeer Award, companies from across the world can now participate and be assessed on whether or not they meet the highest international standards of worker welfare and excellence.

In a press conference on Thursday, Major-General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director-General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFAD) and Chairman of Taqdeer Award, said that companies would now be assessed on a seven-star rating system, instead of the earlier five-star rating system, and that companies from across the world can now register for the Award.

But what is the registration process and how do companies benefit from it? Here is all you need to know.

How companies benefit

Speaking about why companies should register for the Taqdeer Award, Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Ismail, Taqdeer Award Secretary General, said: “Through Taqdeer Award, companies boost their brand in terms of excellence in standards, they build improved relations with their workers and benefit from the Taqdeer Award standard that is implemented in their company. They also get the opportunity to win government project tenders if they have the Taqdeer certificates and star ratings. Most importantly, when they register for the Taqdeer Award, they will collect a free-of-charge report telling them what their strengths are and where they need to improve.”

How to register

Step 1: Register your company

• Visit taqdeeraward.ae and click on the ‘Register now’. It will redirect you to the registration portal - https://portal.taqdeeraward.ae/Registrations/Awards
• Start by entering basic details of your company like the organisation name, sector, address and total workforce. The company employee in charge of the Taqdeer application will then need to provide their full name and contact number and set a password.
• Click on Submit.
Once the initial registration is approved, you will get an email to activate the account.

Step 2: Log in and start your initial application

• Using your username and password, log into the system through the website https://portal.taqdeeraward.ae/Registrations/Awards

You will be able to see the ‘Award applicant dashboard’, with details of your submission status. As you progress through the application, this dashboard will give you a snapshot of how far along your application you are, as an organisation.
• On the left hand menu, click on ‘registrations’, and then on ‘Awards application’.
• You would then need to fill in a form, providing more details of your company’s work and workforce. For example, some of the information that you will be asked to provide are:
o The size of the company and the number of blue-collar employees sponsored by the company or on its direct payroll.
o Workforce size in each of the five workforce levels – elementary occupations, skilled occupations, technicians and associate professionals, experts and supervisory and managerial and leadership.
o Number of nationalities in the workforce
o The official business language used for communication
o Employee housing facilities
o Key awards that the company has won
• Read the terms and conditions and check the box confirming the same.
• Click on Submit.

The application is then reviewed by Taqdeer Award. The approval process can take up to four days. Once the initial application is approved, you will be notified via the registered email address and you will also receive a notification on your dashboard, after which you can begin the application process.

For each of the Award criteria, companies will have to prepare and submit documents, which will initially be assessed. According to Taqdeer, with each step of the application, you will receive an update on your dashboard, giving you a status update. Once all the documents are submitted and the registration profile status shows that it is 100 per cent complete, the assessment process will then begin.

AI-driven process

In the latest award cycle, companies will be able to easily create their profile and receive feedback, as the system is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The smart assessment system will give companies more time to apply and the initial evaluation and preliminary approval will be completed without any human intervention.

Application deadline

The registration portal is now open to companies, and they have until April 2024 to register for the Award.