Here's how Emiratis have found working in the private sector

Government salary top-ups, flexible working hours and a good work-life balance prove a hit

Final year pupils visit a recruitment stand for a Dubai school at the Ru'ya careers fair. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Emiratis working in the private sector have spoken of numerous opportunities and perks, even though a skills gap remains in some areas.

At a careers fair for citizens in Dubai this week, thousands of graduates, school leavers and pupils turned out to learn more about possible career moves.

Although the halls of the World Trade Centre were dominated by public employers such as Dubai Police, Civil Defence, local and federal departments, and even the country's intelligence agency, a few dozen private sector firms were also hoping to attract citizens with jobs – and hit a stringent quota that will require 10 per cent of their workforce to be Emirati by 2026.

Most were represented by Emiratis who had already chosen a career with them.

Abdulla Al Owais joined Amazon's human resources team after five years in a government-linked company.

He found there is more flexible working – although the global firm is set to axe working from home in January – than the public sector.

"I was eager to learn skills and ability that I was only going to get from the corporate private sector, it was definitely the right decision," he said.

Under the Nafis programme, most Emiratis starting out in the private sector are given a salary top-up of Dh5,000 ($1,360) to Dh7,000 ($1,900) per month. This is an incentive by the government to encourage Emiratis to switch sectors and out of recognition that the public sector – in which the vast number of citizens once worked – has tended to pay more.

Since Nafis was launched in 2021, the number of Emiratis in private employment has leapt from fewer than 30,000 to 113,000. Those based in the many free zones are exempt, although they are encouraged to follow the spirit of the law.

Emiratis who joined the private sector before the drive began three years ago do not get the top-up, but Mr Al Owais said there are other benefits.

"After switching from semi-government to the private sector, I can say that the work-life balance is a priority here in our environment.

"I would recommend [young graduates] start their career in the private sector and have the foundation from there. And once they start in the private sector, they might have the rest of their career there."

Tough competition

Mohamad Kamal, a HR specialist with Aramex, said the firm was keen to take on more citizens, but said the standard of candidates had to be high.

Aramex employs about 50 citizens in a workforce of 3,500, and he has interviewed about 200 candidates for six or seven positions this week.

Last year, the company found it hard to fill positions for the quota, he said, but today more young people want to work in the private sector.

"We know they are able to work in our culture, do all the type of job we need. Last week I met around 40-50 candidates for only two positions, [it was] a very good pool of potential candidates."

Nouf Abdulla, 37, an Emirati, worked in the private sector long before the Emiratisation programme ramped up in 2021, but quit to do a master's degree in the hope of furthering her career.

Ms Abdulla, who was at the fair every day this week, has found it difficult to find a job in either sector.

"I'm approaching the private sector. They are being, to be honest, more accommodating," she said.

"If someone is giving you at least a chance, you can prove yourself. I'm applying for lower than my level."

Teachers hard to find

Companies that do not manage to hit the Emiratisation quota face substantial fines.

But many employers have struggled to find the right talent.

Dalia Benhida is the HR and Emiratisation manager at Jumeirah English Speaking School, an independent group with two campuses in Dubai.

The school employs 13 Emiratis in a workforce of about 450, but says none are teachers.

"Emirati teachers are very, very hard to find. I've contacted a lot of universities, it's not one of the fields that a lot of Emiratis choose as a career," she said.

"We've got a lot of HR, marketing, media, but not teaching."

Asked if the school had been fined for failing to hit the quota, she said: "We do, we get fined a lot, but we rather pay the fine. We don't hire to hire. And I know some companies do it, but we refuse."

Emirati teachers that graduate from colleges such as the United Arab Emirates University tend to be prepared for the government school curriculum, rather than British or American, which dominate the private school market.

"We had a fresh graduate who came as a nutritionist, ended up loving being with the children and ended up becoming an assistant teacher, and now she's considering a career in teaching, so it is that path," she said.

Emiratis were traditionally drawn to the public sector when it had more holidays than the private sector, although that has changed in recent years.

"One big perk that we have in being a school is that we have all the holidays – up to 91 days a year. So our salaries might be a bit lower on the scale, but the balance between work and personal life is a big perk that you can't find anywhere else."

Working hours

Working hours in the private sector – often 7.30pm to 3pm – are something those in government jobs may need to get used to.

Melanie Diventry, from Norwegian paint and chemicals company Jotun, puts successful graduates through a three-year training scheme that she hopes will be the start of a long career with them.

The graduate programme pays Dh8,000 ($2,180) to Dh10,000, excluding a Nafis top-up of up to Dh7,000. She admits that some are coming from schools and universities in which they have only socialised with fellow nationals.

"Because it's new for fresh grads entering a private firm, it's a bit of a shock for them. So we try to get them involved from day one," she said, as are the working hours.

"We're 7.30pm-5pm and on Fridays 7.30pm-3pm, it's slightly longer – that's a concern we're facing."

Her team hired one person at the jobs fair and was looking for three more on the final day.

Some Emiratis already working in private companies say it is time to break down stereotypes and attitudes and embrace the opportunities at hand.

Hessa Al Zaabi, who went straight into work after high school, has been with Jotun since 2020, progressing from a receptionist to the company's HR team.

"I never tried the government sector and I enjoy it here," she said.

"It's a multinational company – all nationalities – and we work in one environment as a family, friends.

"They taught me when I was new, they taught me everything, helped me with my work. They know how to treat people very well."

The Emirati employment rate will increase to 6 per cent by the end of 2024, 8 per cent in 2025 and 10 per cent in 2026.

Last year, the government directed that businesses employing between 20 and 49 people must have at least one Emirati staff member by the end of 2024, and two by the end of 2025, in a further expansion of the Emiratisation campaign.