Why talent will define Abu Dhabi’s next decade of growth

Dubai: The UAE ended 2025 with clear evidence that economic diversification is no longer an ambition - it is a fact, and one that is occurring at an accelerated pace. Non-oil sectors continue to grow faster than the oil sector, and they now account for over 77 percent of GDP. This represents the highest share in the nation’s history, with diversification powered by expansions in the technology, finance, real estate, tourism, and culture sectors.

If 2025 served to demonstrate that the transformation is here, the task in 2026 and beyond is to ensure that the momentum endures, and that there is sufficient talent not only to lead, but to continue to drive change. Certainly supportive policy, financial investment, and infrastructure upgrades have helped, but they are only part of the equation. Much of the rest depends on people – human capital with the requisite knowledge and skills to connect strategy with action, technology with productivity, and local ambition with global connection and insight.

The need to develop talent takes even greater urgency as growth sectors have evolved faster than the talent pipelines needed to support them. For example, by now we recognize that artificial intelligence is reshaping every industry and nearly every function. The impact has been so great that the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report estimates that 39 percent of core job skills will be disrupted by 2030, with 59 percent of workers requiring retraining. In addition to needs in AI, analytics, and technological literacy, the World Economic Forum identifies creativity, analytical thinking, curiosity, resilience, flexibility, agility, and leadership near the top.

The challenge for leaders is that they must now learn to manage organizations and people while navigating a workplace increasingly shaped by AI. PwC estimates that artificial intelligence could contribute nearly 14 percent to the UAE’s GDP, close to US$100 billion, by 2030. Yet this promise comes with a caveat: success hinges on deploying AI creatively and responsibly. Technology can amplify capacity, but judgment sets the course. In that sense, then, the real question for leaders is no longer whether to use AI, but how, and ultimately, to what end. It takes skilled, creative, and thoughtful leaders to unlock AI’s potential to create value for business and society.

Meeting this challenge requires an education ecosystem as dynamic as the economy it serves. For example, in 2025 Abu Dhabi intentionally strengthened its commitment to AI – announcing an ambitious new Stargate project that will create an artificial intelligence cluster combining the best of infrastructure, tech leadership, corporate investment, industry engagement, and university partnership. This development represents a more foundational shift in the UAE’s economic diversification strategy: from importing technology, knowledge, and expertise to developing it and commercializing it from here.

Given the shift towards higher value-added activity and knowledge-intensive industries like AI, universities must be prepared to develop talent for this dynamic market. It is essential to teach students that leadership requires more than simply technical fluency. People skills matter just as much, if not more. Effective leaders must combine IQ – technical mastery, analytical skills, and strategic foresight – with EQ – interpersonal skills, empathy, and integrity. Both sets of skills (IQ + EQ) are needed not only for visionary leadership, but to inspire others to drive innovation and productivity.

With economic diversification now firmly entrenched, the next phase is about scaling – developing those next set of technologies, businesses, and industries that will supercharge growth and ensure that the UAE remains at the frontier. However, in order to scale, talent must be ready. And in my conversations with countless corporate leaders, one message resonates: there remains a shortage of leadership talent. That does not reflect a shortage of ambition or even a deficit of smart, ambitious people willing to lead. It reflects an undersupply in the types of educational programs needed to equip them for the current, and future, realities of the marketplace.

Upskilling and embracing AI are no longer optional; they are essential for a resilient future workforce. But it goes beyond that. Success depends not only on harnessing the technologies, but also on mastering the soft skills to gain a powerful edge. Neither is sufficient in isolation. They are both necessary.

Recognizing the importance of talent to economic growth and progress, the UAE has embraced education as a pillar of national competitiveness. Although the UAE is determined to develop into a technological pioneer, it is also poised to become a hub for the future of leadership – a place where talent is not only equipped to contribute to today’s economy, but to lead us into the prosperity promised by tomorrow’s technologies. The seeds have been planted and are beginning to take root. What happens next depends on how we educate leaders who will translate vision into execution. That  work has just begun.

- The writer is Dean of Stern at NYU Abu Dhabi