ABU DHABI (WAM)

Under the leadership and support of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) announced that the number of Emiratis working in the private sector had reached nearly 92,000 by the end of the 2023.

This represents a jump of nearly 157 per cent compared to the number of Emiratis working in the private sector since the launch of the Nafis programme in September 2021.

This is also the highest historical record for Emirati participation in the private sector, serving as a clear testament to the effectiveness of Emiratisation policies and initiatives.

MoHRE also applauded the commitment of over 19,000 private companies that actively contributed to this growth. This, the ministry said, has contributed to the unprecedented increase in the number of Emiratis joining the private sector workforce.

This comes as companies with 50 or more employees continue to achieve the 2024 Emiratisation targets. They have to achieve a 2 per cent Emirtisation growth rate of their skilled employees on a semi-annual basis, or 1 per cent in the first half of the year and 1 per cent in the second half of 2024.

To encourage continued progress, financial contributions were implemented in January 2023 for companies that fell short of the 2023 targets, in implementation of Emiratisation policies and decisions.

MoHRE is also actively implementing the recent Cabinet decision to expand the scope of companies subject to Emiratisation targets, where more than 12,000 companies, across 14 specific key economic activities, with 20-49 employees, are required to hire at least one Emirati citizen in 2024 and another in 2025.

The decision includes imposing annual financial contributions on companies that do not meet their required targets, amounting to Dh96,000 for each UAE citizen not appointed in 2024, which will be collected starting January 2025. Meanwhile, financial contributions of Dh108,000 will be imposed for failure to meet 2025 targets, to be collected in January 2026. Companies will be allowed to pay their contributions in instalment plans, in agreement with MoHRE.