Khalifa Fund to drive Emiratisation

Dubai: The Khalifa Fund for Emiratisation Empowerment is the best national initiative for empowering Emiratisation in the private sector, according to Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, head of the Human Resources Development Committee of the financial and banking sector.

Helping Emiratis gain a foothold in the private sector has become a national imperative for everyone with the launch of the Khalifa Fund, other officials and academics said.

The fund offers subsidies to private companies to encourage them to hire and keep Emirati employees, who will also receive increments to bring their wages on par with scales offered in the public sector.

Al Tayer told Gulf News: "It is one of the best initiatives to enable Emiratisation and will eliminate the weak excuses for not hiring Emiratis in the private sector."

Built-in privileges

He added that privileges envisaged by the initiative would create better job opportunities for Emiratis in the labour market and also encourage them to remain in the labour market.

"This initiative will grant Emiratis a peaceful, professional and social settlement, and stability," Al Tayer said.

The new initiative aims to provide financial resources necessary to support programmes and policies to encourage UAE nationals to enter the private labour sector.

Al Tayer called on both employers and Emirati jobseekers to derive maximum benefit from the scheme. "The financial resources offered by this initiative would be sufficient incentive for Emiratis to follow training programmes that enable them to stand competent in the labour market."

He said he is expecting a remarkable increase in the number of Emiratis seeking employment as the door is now open for Emiratis in all job sectors.

Al Tayer expressed the hope that employers would respond positively to the initiative since the obstacle they faced in terms of payment to national employees had been addressed.

Hani Al Hamli, secretary-general of the Dubai Economic Council (DEC), said the fund would energise the absorption of Emiratis in the private sector.

He said the new initiative would help raise the employment rate of nationals across various economic sectors. "That would reduce the labour market imbalance," he added.

Dr Abdul Rahman Al Awar, director general of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, said the fund is an excellent initiative that matches the Marriage Fund and the Zayed Housing Programme in terms of its social and economic impact.

"With the fund allowing private companies to match the salaries offered by the public sector, these companies have no excuses and must take the initiative to lure Emirati staff," Dr Al Awar said, stressing that closing the wage gap between the public and private sectors removed a major barrier that kept Emiratis from looking beyond government jobs.

Unemployment rate

The UAE's unemployment rate stood at 4.2 per cent in 2009, government statistics show.

However, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, has said this level was still too high for comfort, taking particular note of the tendency of Emirati professionals to be "picky" and constantly be on the lookout for better prospects. A report released by the National Statistics Bureau showed the majority of the unemployed are fresh graduates under the age of 25.

Al Hamli also indicated that DEC has already studied the main socio-economic issues in the UAE, particularly national employment in the private sector. The studies recommend that there is a pressing need to tackle this issue through appropriate regulations that encourage Emiratis to work in private entities and, on the other hand, to get private companies themselves to employ nationals, particularly university graduates.

"Obviously, the new initiative will bridge the wage gap between the public and private sectors which is regarded so far [as] one of the main challenges facing the labour market in the sense that the national employment rate in the private sector is still too low," Al Hamli added. "This issue has been dominating the local labour market for decades, leading to larger population and employment imbalances and their inverse implications on the social and cultural scenes."

Dr Abdul Rahim Al Shaheen, professor of political science at the UAE University, said doing away with Emiratisation quotas and offering subsidies instead to help private companies hire, train and retain Emirati staff is an excellent step.

Visa system revamp

"However, a central authority must be tasked with issuing work visas so that no visa is issued unless there is no suitable Emirati candidate to fill the job. Existing foreign workforce should also be made available, before more visas are issued," Dr Al Shaheen said.

Dr Al Shaheen said the Khalifa Fund for Emiratisation Empowerment should receive support from federal and local entities as well as private companies.

He suggested that a share of service fees collected by immigration and labour departments should be allocated to the fund, which is expected to start its operation as soon as possible under the supervision of the National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia).

Fidda Lootah, acting director general of Tanmia, said 12,000 Emirati job seekers are registered with the authority.

Sidebar

Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour, in a statement said Khalifa Fund for Emiratisation Empowerment, which embodies a strategic partnership between the private and public sectors, will strengthen the Emirati workforce in the private sector and help build the knowledge-based economy.

The Fund will use its financial resources to advance policies and programmes aimed at creating new jobs at the local and federal levels, supporting and financing small and medium scale enterprises, and financing university specialisations that cater for requirements of the local labour market.

It will act as a key contributing mechanism to leverage participation of citizens and develop the social welfare concept into a new one that enables able social assistance recipients to become a productive force contributing to the growth of the national economy. It will also serve as a mechanism for facilitating success of Emiratisation policy and programmes and increasing the share of small size businesses owned by UAE citizens in a way the generates more job opportunities.

Four quotes

Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour, "It [the fund] will also serve as a mechanism for facilitating success of Emiratisation policy and programmes and increasing the share of small size businesses owned by UAE citizens in a way the generates more job opportunities."

Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Head of Human Resources Development Committee of the Financial and Banking sector, "The privileges of the Fund would ease and create better job opportunities for Emiratis in the labour market as well as encouraging them to be in the labour market. This initiative will grant Emiratis a peaceful professional and social settlement and stability."

Hani Al Hamli, Secretary-General of Dubai Economic Council (DEC), "Obviously, the new initiative will bridge the wage gap between the public and private sector which is regarded so far one of the main challenges facing the labour market in the sense that the national employment rate in the private sector is still too low."

Dr Abdul Rahim Al Shaheen, professor of political science at the UAE University, ".. a central authority must be tasked with issuing work visas so that no visa is issued unless there is no suitable Emirati candidate to fill the job. Existing foreign workforce should also be made available, before more visas are issued."

- WAM