Emirati students encouraged to pursue private-sector careers

ABU DHABI // Emirati students will be able to learn about the private sector through a council that the Ministry of Higher Education is setting up.

The aim is to increase the number of Emiratis in the sector to help secure the UAE’s future, said Dr Ahmad Belhoul, Minister of State for Higher Education.

“We need to be able to graduate students with skills relevant to the private sector, so the council will have private sector-representatives from different industries that will at least be a sounding board,” he said.

“I’m not a believer in imposing Emiratisation. I’m a big believer in graduating the right talent that will be sought after by the private sector.”

The council could be set up by May or June and the ministry has made partnerships with companies.

The move is considered the first of many steps shifting Emiratis to the private sector and from being job seekers to job creators, said Dr Belhoul.

The ministry has a new department on graduate affairs and the labour market, and is playing a more active role with internships, he said.

“We want them to get a real taste before committing to the private sector,” he said. “There was always this myth before that it’s too competitive and jobs aren’t secure, so the best way to break that barrier is an internship.”

A ministry study showed two-thirds of Emirati students intern in the public sector, 17 per cent in semi-government companies such as Mubadala and Adnoc, and 15 per cent in the private sector, Dr Belhoul said.

He hopes to raise the private-sector figure to 40 per cent by 2021. The ministry will send a batch of students with GPAs above 3.5 to private-sector internships in industries such oil and gas, aviation and financial services.

“There are many successful stories of Emiratis in the private sector today, like the head of General Electric UAE. Students are becoming smarter and we’re becoming a globally competitive country so it’s just a matter of time.

“We want to break that cycle and make private the sector of choice.”

Amin Al Balooshi, a 27-year-old Emirati from Dubai, works as a business analyst at Emirates Airline.

“There are many innovations that take place in the private sector,” he said. “My job is related between IT and business so we’re the backbone for the business domain at Emirates.

“Attitudes are slowly changing because the leadership is communicating with the people, we’re being encouraged and it helps us to become familiar with society.”

He worked in government for three years but switched in an aim to further develop his potential.

“It’s one of the most competitive companies in the world and has a different view of innovation,” he said. “I like to work in that environment.”

Fatma Al Attar, an 18-year-old Zayed University student, said Emiratis needed to be more independent.

“That happens in the private sector,” she said. “It builds more character and maturity, and offers everything, even if you stay two hours more than government offices.”