Young UAE nationals are looking for jobs in new sectors because of the changes in the country’s economic portfolio that focuses on manufacturing, technical innovation and future sciences, according to Ibrahim Al Asmawi, HR Manager, Adecco Middle East, the provider of workforce solutions.
With ongoing plans of diversification of economy away from oil, many UAE nationals now seek jobs at different fields of engineering – space, mechanical and electrical and nuclear energy, whereas they previously focused on marketing and business management in line with previous government strategies, Al Asmawi said.
With the different e-commerce initiatives coming up in the country, more young UAE Nationals are expected to seek employment in e-commerce, while universities will launch new field of studies that coincide with market requirements similar to the crisis management course that was launched by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in 2008 following the global financial crisis, he said.
Due to its goals focused on attracting talents and adopting technology that formulate the future working environment, the UAE recently managed to rank 19th in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2017 that measures a country’s ability to compete for talent. The UAE’s score was 62.49, which is 2.75 above its (high income) group average of 59.74.
It also ranked fourth overall in the (Attract) pillar, which highlights the country’s ability to lure valuable resources from abroad (direct investments and otherwise) and HR (highly skilled migrants), while it was within the top five in the world in migrant stock, international students, brain gain, tolerance of immigrants, FDI, and transfer of technology.
