Dubai (HRNW) With foreign workers making up the vast bulk of private sector jobs in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf’s second-largest economy wants to boost opportunities for its own citizens.
The UAE — like other oil-rich Arab Gulf states — has often used the public sector as an employment vehicle for its nationals.
But times are changing, said 34-year-old Emirati researcher Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, who has himself been looking for a private sector job since quitting a government post in June.
“We’ve reached a point where we have a diversity among Emiratis in terms of skill sets and expertise,” said Suwaidi. “The public sector can no longer accommodate many of those talents.”
Just 12 percent of the country’s more than nine million residents are UAE nationals, with over 90 percent of private sector jobs taken by foreigners, according to International Labour Organization figures.
Suwaidi, author of a forthcoming book titled “UAE after the Arab Spring,” said he believed some employers overlooked his application because they presumed an Emirati would demand the high wages often paid in lucrative government posts.
“The private sector needs to be more accommodating,” he said. “I’ve been applying for jobs for a while to no avail.”