The number of Emiratis working in the private sector has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid announced on Sunday.
The Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai said more than 70,000 citizens have joined private companies in the past two and a half years alone in a message on X, formerly Twitter.
Sheikh Mohammed, also Vice President, set out plans to accelerate the country's Emiratisation drive by giving priority for government department positions to those who have worked in the private sector for at least three years.
The strategy - first announced at a UAE Cabinet meeting earlier this month - will support efforts to create an additional 100,000 jobs for citizens over the next three years, he said.
"I reviewed the results of the Emiratisation strategy in the private sector in the UAE. For the first time in the country's history, the number of Emiratis working in the private sector has exceeded 100,000," Sheikh Mohammed wrote on X.
He added: "70,000 of them joined in the last two and a half years following the launch of the Nafis programme by my brother, the President of the UAE, with generous support amounting to Dh24 billion, and the introduction of many supportive and incentivising legislations for Emiratisation in the private sector, along with the rapid economic growth in our country.
"We approved a new policy in the Cabinet to give employment preference in the government sector to those with three years of experience in the private sector.
"Our appreciation and thanks go to the team at Nafis and the Ministry of Emiratisation and Human Resources, overseen by my brother Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, for their work on this important national issue.
"Our goal is to add 100,000 new jobs for citizens over the next three years."
Emiratisation drive gathers pace
The UAE has embarked on a major push to encourage more local talent to join the private sector, which remains a driving force behind the nation's economic development.
The UAE's Nafis programme was introduced in September 2021 with a mission to ensure 10 per cent of all jobs in the private sector are taken up by citizens by the end of 2026.
Companies must increase their Emirati workforce by 1 per cent every six months as part of the nationwide initiative.
Employers in the UAE with at least 50 members of staff were required to meet a 4 per cent target by the end of 2023.
The Emirati employment rate will increase to 6 per cent by the end of 2024, 8 per cent in 2025 and 10 per cent in 2026.
Last year, the government directed that businesses employing between 20 and 49 people must have at least one Emirati staff member by the end of 2024, and two by the end of 2025, in a further expansion of the Emirsatisation campaign.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
EPL's youngest
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15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
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16 years, 68 days old
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
