FNC presses for creating more jobs for citizens
Jobseekers at between 12,000 and 13,000 annually in Abu Dhabi alone
Abu Dhabi: Concerned over the growing number of unemployed citizens, Saeed Nasser Al Khateri, a member from Ras Al Khaimah, questioned actions made by the Federal Human Resources Authority to create jobs for university graduates and secondary school completers.
Al Khateri demanded the government to create more jobs for unemployed Emiratis, citing the Economy Ministry's figures which put joblessness among Emiratis at 15 per cent.
He sought to know from Humaid Mohammad Al Qutami, Minister of Education and chairman of the Federal Human Resource Authority, about what the authority is doing to keep pace with the high demand for jobs. He asked how a country like the UAE with an economy creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and where citizens account for less than 15 per cent of the population, could have an unemployment problem.
National priority
"Jobs are provided only to three per cent of jobseekers," Al Khatheri said, stressing that employment was a national priority to achieve the aspirations of the people of the UAE and to ensure their welfare and a decent living for them.
Al Qutami told the House emiratisation is a big challenge for federal and local authjorities and the private sector. "As many as 94 per cent of administrative jobs in ministries were held by Emiratis, while citizens account for 20 per cent of jobs among medical professionals and 65 per cent among educational professionals. "Ministries and federal departments offered jobs to 1,500 Emiratis last year and a similar number the year before," Al Qutami said.
"But considering that the federal ministries have just 34,787 jobs and the federal authorities 15,929 jobs, the onus is on the private sector to offer more jobs to citizens out of the hundreds of thousands it creates," Al Qutami said.
There are 35,000 unemployed Emiratis in the UAE, and only seven per cent of citizens work in the private sector, according to statistics from the Ministry of Economy.
Official estimates put the number of Emirati jobseekers at between 12,000 and 13,000 annually in Abu Dhabi alone, with the emirate expecting to create more than 600,000 new jobs over the next decade.
The unemployment rate in the UAE was last reported at 4.3 percent in 2010.
Al Qutami said emiratisation is a joint responsibility because citizens employed by ministries are just 37,000, but the private sector can offer tens of thousands more jobs.
The representative asked whether the Federal human Resopurces has a plan to employ the unemployed, but Al Qutami said that was the responsibility of Tanmia, the government authority in charge of employment of citizens.
