Faisal Saeed al Romaithi is a rarity within the Emirati business community.
During breaks from university, shortly after his family opened Cassells Hotel Apartments in Abu Dhabi in 2000, Mr al Romaithi could be found working at the reception desk, booking reservations and checking in guests, or scrutinising rooms as the supervisor of housekeepers.
Over the years he has earned a Bachelor's degree in management and marketing, and a Master's in human resources management, while also working in his family's expanding hotel business as a sales and marketing director and general manager.
"Last week I was bored and I told the receptionist I'm working with you," says Mr al Romaithi, the vice chairman of Cassells Group, which opened a third hotel last year in Dubai. "I like to sit and talk with the guests. I like to get their feedback."
Emiratis including Mr al Romaithi make up only 0.96 per cent of people working in the regional tourism industry, which encompasses hotels, travels agencies and tour-guide outfits.
While 10 per cent of his own staff are Emiratis, he says his target is to quadruple that amount and ultimately have a staff wholly made up of Emiratis.
Mr al Romaithi has been busy tapping into industry data and his business network while researching his PhD thesis, the topic of which is why there are not more Emiratis in this sector, and how to change this.
"I hire locals," he says. "It was challenging at the beginning, especially because the families don't want their daughters and sons to work in hospitality because it's taboo.
"This is changing. People are understanding that tourism is a major contributor to the UAE economy."
Others in the industry have also seen changes. Toufic Tamin, the vice president of sales and marketing for the Middle East at Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts, says its UAE properties have been hiring more nationals for the sales department.
Mr Tamin says locals are also showing interest in working at the front desk and in public relations.
"Perhaps more attention or training should be given to the nationals for the food and beverage department because that is the thing we haven't seen much development in," he says. "But it will come. It should come."
Over the next year, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) is working to more than double the proportion of Emiratis in the capital's tourism sector to 2 per cent.
Atef Abdulla al Bastaki, who heads the ADTA's nationalisation initiatives, also oversees its Ambassador Programme, where university students and workers nominated by organisations, including Etihad Airways and the Abu Dhabi Police, are taught about local sites and history to help to educate foreign visitors.
"I'm promoting Emiratis in the industry and introducing the industry to the Emiratis," Mr al Bastaki says. "Basically, I'm the middle man."
And as that middle man he has quite a gap to bridge. He says there are 400 vacancies for Emiratis in the regional hotel business.
But while there are 12,000 nationals actively seeking jobs, they often disregard hospitality because the working hours are significantly longer than other sectors and earn lower overall pay.
That is why Mr al Bastaki and the ADTA have been working closely with hoteliers, some of whom have suggested flexible working hours to get more Emiratis into areas such as finance, marketing, human resources and administration.
He is also leading a team of colleagues from the ADTA to research how much Emiratis earn in the government sector compared with the private sector, and specifically within the hotel industry.
At the same time, Mr al Bastaki is working with outside partners to have funding introduced to help fill the salary gap for nationals interested working in this sector but deterred by lower wages.
"It's just going to take some time," he says.
nparmar@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Company%20Profile
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
Company%20profile
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Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
The%20Specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.