ABU DHABI // Waleed Al Jberi and Mohamed Al Messabi are weighing the advantages of public and private-sector jobs, even though they are still in their first year of university.
The two Abu Dhabi Men's College students were among hundreds of young Emiratis looking for guidance and inspiration at Mubadala's second annual Youth Forum at Zayed University last week.
"Passion for my future, motivation and to learn from all the experience around is why I'm here," said Mr Al Jberi, 22, who is majoring in public relations and also attended the forum last year.
Designed to spur Emirati students to consider the private sector when starting their careers, the forum gave students the chance to interact with Emiratis who had enjoyed success in non-government companies.
It confirmed Mr Al Jberi's desire to work for a private employer.
"Private companies will give me an opportunity to meet new people, as most of the people in the public sector are locals," he said.
Mr Al Messabi, 21, said the forum showed the private sector gave Emiratis more opportunities to advance, but that this view was not shared by most UAE national students.
"Many don't want to work in the private sector because they are uncomfortable with the idea of working with many foreigners," he said. "They know the public sector is full of Emiratis who share the same language, culture and values."
Mr Al Messabi said the misconception held by many Emiratis, including him before the forum, that only jobs in the public sector were of benefit to the nation also swayed students' decision. "I thought private companies only served themselves and not the country, but this event has shown me it is important for Emiratis to seek these jobs," he said.
Mohammed Younus is a rare example of a UAE national who has worked for a private company since leaving high school, and says more Emiratis should follow his example.
"Eventually Emiratis will be forced to work for the private sector," said Mr Younus, 25.
He has worked for a medical-research company in Dubai for the past six years, but said 90 per cent of Emiratis he knew worked in the public sector. "We can't have all Emiratis working for the Government," Mr Younus said. "They should know working in private companies offers more opportunity for growth while you can be more productive."
But Mohammed Al Suwaidi, 30, who made the switch from a private company, the telecommunications carrier du, to a public-sector job at the Abu Dhabi Educational Council, said the idea that all government jobs were easy was far from true.
"At times during Ramadan I was leaving work for a few hours to break fast and early-morning congregational prayers, while sometimes not finishing my work project until 5am," Mr Al Suwaidi said.
Having to adjust from a work environment where Emiratis are in the minority to one with only a few expatriates proved challenging for him at first.
"It's completely different to interact with Emiratis outside the office and then have to deal with them on a professional level," Mr Al Suwaidi said.
"Our culture plays a significant role in the work environment."
He said although it was harder to motivate people and get things done at his present job, he felt more fulfilled there.
"In the private setting the motivation is profit, whereas in the Government it's duty and responsibility to the country," Mr Al Suwaidi said. "But I miss little things about my old job, like getting my own coffee, which was much easier at du. I'm getting lazy in this job."
He recommended that regardless of which sector they choose, graduates should search for a job that best fits them and be patient in the beginning.
Mr Al Suwaidi believes opportunities for Emiratis are plentiful in both sectors, so graduates should not limit their search.
"Many Emiratis say there are no places to work," Mr Al Jberi added. "I say be active, go out there and knock on some doors. Do not rule out the private-sector jobs.
"The country has done a lot for us, so we have to give back by working hard wherever we land."
tsubaihi@thenational.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
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