Job quota for nationals proposed

Tanmia is proposing that the federal government introduce a mandatory quota for the UAE national employees in the private sector, said Dr Abdul Rahman Al Awar, the authority's Director General.

Speaking on the sidelines of an orientation seminar to introduce employers to the authority's 2003 objectives, he said Tanmia's current objective is to offer on the job training to job seekers.

The proposal has been made to provide the UAE national job seekers an opportunity to benefit from abundant vacancies available in the private sector. He said each year approximately 13,000 nationals are added to the labour market.

Dr Al Awar said: "It is impossible for the government sector alone to employ the large numbers of national job seekers." The only solution is to get help from the private sector which has the capacity to accommodate the increasing number of UAE nationals seeking jobs due to the thriving economy.

Citing an example, Dr Al Awar said the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs last year issued 330,000 job permits to the private sector.

"This shows that there are jobs available in the private sector but the UAE nationals are not being accommodated. These jobs could have also benefited the national job seekers if an effective mechanism was in place."

He said the proposal for mandatory quota was made after reviewing the availability of jobs in the market.

He said certain areas and industries in the private sector will be targeted to implement the initial stages of the proposal if approved.

A joint committee has been established between Tanmia and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to oversee the employment of UAE nationals in the private sector.

"The joint committee will be restructured. The committee will lay down new policies for the employment of nationals in the private sector."

Tanmia will also sign a memorandum of understanding with SmartSquare for the employment of 50 national women in the Zayed University and IBM project.

The authority is also studying the establishment of a fund, supported by the labour ministry, to develop and train national human resources. As part of Tanmia services, 40 companies from Abu Dhabi were invited for an orientation seminar.