Emiratisation in the local labor force of the UAE : a review of the obstacles and identification of potential strategies

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), around 89 % of the populations are non-nationals. Despite this, there is a comparatively high unemployment rate amongst UAE nationals, and nationals make up only 9 % of employees in the public sector and 1 % of employees in the private sector. This paper reports on a study that aims to identify both the barriers to Emiratisation (employment of UAE nationals) in the UAE workforce, and to suggest strategies to increase Emiratisation. The paper argues that there are three areas that may be crucial to Emiratisation, which include Personal factors such as education, skills, and experience, Organisational capital such as culture, English language and human resource strategy, and Social capital such as gender inequality, nepotism and lack of trust. These have been tested in a preliminary survey with open-ended and close-ended questions, purposefully conducted by 17 senior managers, or those that possess similar expertise, in the field of human resource management in UAE (Dubai). The most significant obstacles to Emiratisation in the workforce as perceived by the 17 respondents were related to the unavailability of career development prospects, education and skills, low wage, little opportunity for training and promotion, lack of English language, and lack of trust in the ability of UAE nationals to complete their work. However, other obstacles exist such as absence of a work culture, work attitude and gender issues, which are also important factors in increasing the participation of UAE in the workforce. From the results of the study a number of strategies are developed to increase the participation of Emiraties in the workforce.