Aldar plans to recruit 1,000 Emiratis by 2026

The company will add 200 jobs every year to boost employment opportunities for citizens

Emiratis make up 33.5 per cent of all Aldar employees. Sammy Dallal / The National

Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s biggest listed developer, is planning to create 1,000 new jobs for Emiratis over the next five years in line with the "Projects of the 50" initiative unveiled by the government last month.

The company will add 200 jobs every year across its various subsidiaries and partner companies until 2026 to boost employment opportunities for citizens, it said in a statement on Sunday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

“We are committed to offering the next generation of Emirati talent an opportunity to build their careers in a business with high ambitions, a solid growth trajectory, and diverse business interests,” said Talal Al Dhiyebi, group chief executive of Aldar Properties.

“By driving the adoption of this initiative, we will deliver on our purpose as a responsible organisation and be an active enabler of the continued development of our national economy.”

The UAE government aims to ensure 75,000 Emiratis enter the private sector in the next five years as part of its "Projects of the 50" programme.

It also announced a series of incentive packages to encourage Emiratis to take up jobs in the private sector, including the child allowance and pension programmes.

Currently, 33.5 per cent of Aldar employees are Emiratis, with more than 100 citizens joining the company over the past two years, the developer said.

They are heading a number of departments including strategy and transformation, sustainability, marketing and communications, procurement, information technology, commercial, portfolio management and investment finance.

“Through this initiative, the company will provide local talent with progressive career opportunities in roles related to investment and development management, education, retail and hospitality, among others,” Aldar said.

“There will also be opportunities in specialist areas including sustainability, innovation, digital transformation, data and analytics, and sales.”

Aldar, which has developed a number of projects in Abu Dhabi, including on Yas Island, Al Raha and Saadiyat Island, reported a 7.6 per cent jump in its second-quarter profit to Dh520 million ($141.59m) as revenue for the period climbed 9 per cent annually to about Dh2.2 billion.

The company also completed the sale of all homes at the Magnolias, the third phase of its Yas Acres Development, it announced earlier this month. It registered total sales of Dh1bn from the sale of 312 residential units at the project.

Aldar plans to unveil five new projects in 2021 on Reem, Saadiyat and Yas Islands as it aims to equal or surpass its 2020 sales of Dh3.6bn, Jonathan Emery, chief executive of Aldar Development, told The National in May.