Inactive Emirati job seekers is not a new issue - Ministry

Inactive Emirati job seekers is not a new issue – Ministry

Along the track of Emiratisation, the Ministry says that the issue cannot be solved overnight but important factors must first be highlighted and recognised...

October 1, 2012 9:52 by Muhammad Aldalou

As the government bodies in the UAE continue to push for the Emiratisation programme to bloom, aimed at reducing the national reliance on government employment, Kipp hears that they are facing an up-hill battle.

“There is a category of Emiratis sitting at home despite the large number of jobs provided, whether in the public or private sector,” says Mona Al Za’abi, chief executive of corporate and support services at the ministry, quoted by The National. “They are comfortable with their situations and have become too dependent.”

Ministry officials explain that in spite of the widely available and diverse work vacancies, there are thousands of Emirati women who choose to receive social allowances instead. The Ministry said that of the 14,000 Emirati women receiving social allowances, 85 percent of them are refusing to find employment.

As the Ministry says and as Kipp very well knows, an issue like this can hardly ever be solved overnight and the United Arab Emirates is certainly not the first the country in the world to face the challenge of motivating its nationals to join the workforce. Dependency on social benefits in the United States and many European countries as the residents find no motivation to work, has been higher than ever.

However, in spite of the shockingly high percentage of nationals allegedly refusing to work, there are also many cultural and social reasons between the rejection as well. According to the Ministry, it is not only financial motives that determine the decision to work, for the most common reasons have turned out to be lack of transport, disapproving siblings or parents and long shifts that they are unable to accommodate.

“If we could create jobs that are convenient for those job seekers are socially acceptable and near them, such as call centres in the Northern Emirates, through providing facilities for private companies, these could encourage them,” said Mr Mulla, executive director of the Emirates Nationals Development programme,

“What we need to do is to make the rewards of working much higher than the rewards of staying at home,” Mr Al Mulla said. “It is when we will succeed.”

All in all, the Emiratisation programme is on track and has achieved a good record considering the short period of focus, but Kipp believes that the issue also lies in the lack of preparation that Nationals receive during their school years.