Emiratis now account for about a third of the staff at many of the largest government-linked firms in Abu Dhabi as companies strive to raise the profile of citizens in the workforce.
Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) more than tripled its number of Emirati employees over 2011 and 2012. The developer says it is on course to beat its target of raising the percentage of locals it employs to 40 per cent by 2015.
Mubadala Development aims to ensure that more than half of its staff at its head office are nationals by the end of the year.
Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) have Emiratisation rates of 35 per cent and 31.6 per cent, respectively. A total of 22.4 per cent of Etihad Airways's core staff are Emiratis, while National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has an Emiratisation level of 35.3 per cent.
Raising the skill levels of nationals and engaging them in the drive to move the Abu Dhabi economy away from a reliance on oil have long been integral parts of the emirate's development goals, as mapped out by the 2030 vision.
But many companies are redoubling their efforts to find local candidates as the Government drums up support for its initiative designating 2013 the year of Emiratisation.Companies are also being encouraged to consider Emirati jobseekers put forward by the Tawteen Council, the body responsible for reducing unemployment among locals.
"Abu Dhabi companies are really working hard to fill positions with Emiratis," said Hamza Zaouali, the managing director of Iris Executives, a job search company working with several Abu Dhabi government-linked companies.
"Last year there may be a job open to Emiratis for one month and if that was not filled the search would be widened to expatriates. Now, companies are increasingly keeping those positions only for Emiratis."
Some government-linked companies are looking to fill several hundred positions with Emiratis this year.
Mubadala, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, plans to recruit more than 500 UAE nationals this year, an official with the company said in January. Emirates Aluminium, a joint venture between Mubadala and Dubai Aluminium, said the same month it was seeking Emiratis to fill 318 positions this year, 154 per cent more than last year.
NBAD said it planned to hire 150 nationals this year.
"ADPC's stated target for 2013 is to further increase the percentage of UAE nationals in the company to 40 per cent, with 44 positions specifically earmarked for the 'developee programme,' " said a spokesman for the ports operator. "The company has also indicated that, in line with its continued growth, there will also be opportunities for, and recruitment of, experienced Emiratis, in management-level positions."
TDIC has experienced the biggest increase in its national workforce in the last two years. Its Emiratisation level rose from 9 per cent in 2011 to 32 per cent at the end of last year.
"Our plan has been to reach an Emiratisation level of 40 per cent by 2015," said Sultan Al Mahmoud, the executive director of strategic performance at TDIC. "However, given where we are today in regards to that process, we strongly believe that we will exceed our set target."
He said more than 80 per cent of the company's senior management was Emirati.
Across some companies, the rise in Emiratisation levels is partly explained by cuts to expatriate workforce numbers during the global financial crisis. For others, it reflects nationals filling new positions.
“Some Abu Dhabi companies had to lay off a substantial amount of expatriate workforce during the global financial crisis and when the time was right reorganised and used this opportunity to Emiratise some positions that were previously held by expatriates,” said Mr Zaouali.
The Government is also keen to encourage more Emiratis to move into the private sector to ease the burden for employment from the public sector.
The private sector accounted for the highest percentage of demand for labour in the first quarter of last year, according to data released yesterday by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.
tarnold@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WonderTree%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20April%202016%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Waqas%20and%20Muhammad%20Usman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karachi%2C%20Pakistan%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%2C%20and%20Delaware%2C%20US%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Special%20education%2C%20education%20technology%2C%20assistive%20technology%2C%20augmented%20reality%3Cbr%3EN%3Cstrong%3Eumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowth%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Grants%20from%20the%20Lego%20Foundation%2C%20UAE's%20Anjal%20Z%2C%20Unicef%2C%20Pakistan's%20Ignite%20National%20Technology%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
