The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation confirmed that vocational training programs for national cadres implemented by private sector establishments and employers with the aim of qualifying young Emiratis for the labor market do not fall within the required annual Emiratisation rates or targets, explaining that the targeted Emiratisation rates for skilled Emiratis are calculated from Through work permits for citizens registered in the Ministry’s approved systems.
Last February, the Ministry approved an amendment to the Cabinet’s decision regarding the mechanism for achieving the targeted annual growth rates for Emiratisation, which stipulates achieving a growth rate in Emiratisation of 1% of skilled jobs before the end of June, provided that it reaches the target rate of growth of 2% before the end of the year.
On its official website, the Ministry specified four main conditions for approving the Emiratisation targets of the establishments registered with it, which include 50 skilled workers or more. The first is that the citizen has a valid work permit, and the second is that his wages be paid through the wage protection system or any other system. Approved by a competent authority in the state, as well as that the citizen be registered with the approved pension funds in the state, and finally that the relationship between the citizen and the facility is a contractual relationship that fulfills all terms and conditions in accordance with the law regulating labor relations and its executive regulations and the applicable decisions implementing them.
The Ministry stated that establishments with 50 or more workers must commit to raising their current Emiratisation rates by 2% annually in skill levels, and achieve an increase rate of 10% until 2026, by increasing the number of national workers with them, stressing that in the event that the establishment breaches the commitment to Emiratisation rates scheduled for two consecutive years, it will be reclassified into the third category according to the classification approved by the Ministry.
The Ministry reiterated its warning to employers against engaging in any practices that involve manipulation, fraud, or violations of the Emiratization targets, pointing out that the establishment’s “fictitious localization” requires imposing a fine of 20,000 dirhams on it for each citizen worker, and non-compliance with the established procedures regarding employment or termination. Citizen service, a fine of 20,000 dirhams is required for each case.
While the Emirati Cadres Competitiveness Council (Nafes) noted that it had allocated a training program for national cadres from recent graduates, called the “Experience Program”, with the aim of providing them with the expertise that qualifies them to enter the labor market in the private sector, through which a monthly financial reward is provided to the citizen throughout the period. Training for up to 12 months as a maximum, with the need to have training contracts approved by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation as a condition for obtaining financial support for the “Experience” program.
The council stated, in response to the questions and observations of a large number of national cadres, and responded to the “Nafes” accounts on social media platforms, that the approved period for the training program ending in employment “Experience”, which is one of the “Nafes” programs, reaches a maximum of 12 months. During which a financial reward will be paid to the trained citizen, amounting to 8,000 dirhams for a university graduate, 6,500 dirhams for a diploma holder, and 4,000 dirhams for a high school graduate, stressing the need for the companies participating in the program to be registered and approved by “Nafes”, and to commit to employing the citizen during or when The end of the training period.
The council stated that, in order to be entitled to the training reward in private employers, the trainee citizen must obtain a training permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, pointing out that registering companies to be part of “Nafes” by creating accounts for them on the employment platform is not mandatory.
Training partnerships
The Emirati Cadres Competitiveness Council (Nafes) stated that it has recently held many partnerships with federal and local authorities concerned with the “Nafes” program, with the aim of supporting and implementing the training programs included in the initiatives, most notably the UAE University, the Abu Dhabi Global Market Academy, and the Center of Excellence for Applied Research and Training (Centre for Applied Research and Training). CERT), which is the commercial, research and training arm of the Higher Colleges of Technology, along with the Fatima College of Health Sciences, affiliated to the Abu Dhabi Center for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ACTVET), and the Federal Youth Corporation, in addition to many private and semi-private companies that meet the criteria of the program.
