Aji George has a plan. The sales director of Wizard Interiors and Design, which he co-founded six years ago in Dubai, employs 52 staff, the majority of whom are Indian.
But the company aims to nearly double its Indian workforce by the end of the year.
Here, he talks about why he primarily hires his fellow countrymen.
You want to employ 100 people from India by the end of the year. Why?
These people are the sole breadwinners for their families. So you give them an opportunity to help them support their loved ones.
What other benefits do you receive by hiring your countrymen?
In India there are certain places where people specialise [in specific trades]. For example, these carpenters who are working with me are basically born carpenters. Their family is involved in it. They come and tell me this is not the way to do it, that is the way to do it.
Do you only employ people from India?
We have a mix but we see to that a maximum number [are] Indians.
About 80 per cent of our workforce is Indian at the moment.
Have you always primarily hired your countrymen?
Initially ... we said OK, let's at least keep a target of at least 10 people in the first year so 10 families in India can survive [as a result of] this company. We reached 10 and the next year we went up to 25. And then, year after year, we kept a target for ourselves. This year our target is actually 100 people, so 100 families get a livelihood from this company.
How do you find your staff?
When I need people I tell [my staff], 'OK, do you have anybody who is interested in coming?' Because they are the best people to talk to. We say, 'OK, we want carpenters,' or 'we want masons,' or 'we want electricians,' or, 'we want painters.' The first way to spread the word is through our people and there are many recruiting companies in India who we send a request to and they get the people ready for us and we go and interview them and bring them here.
Do you ever hire locally?
Last year, we hired five people who we thought were good for us after a company closed down here. There are options available, whichever way is easier and faster for us, we do that.
Is hiring people who have worked abroad a challenge?
It was a bit difficult in the beginning to teach [some employees] that you have to wear shoes, you have to wear a helmet, you have to wear gloves to do those things. [Some were] used to keeping the wood on his leg and cutting it. But I said, 'Not in this part of the world.' Now they are used to it.
gduncan@thenational.ae
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
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Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Specs
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The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
