Today's Edition
MUDHI ALOBTHANI (ABU DHABI)
As hiring manager Ahmed Bamagbour Al Kindi interviewed job-seekers at this year's Industrialists Career Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, he couldn’t help but remember that three years ago, he was sitting on the other side of the table.
Al Kindi started his career with a job offer he received after attending the same exhibition in 2023. "Looking back, I didn't think I would get anything from a job fair like this," he told Aletihad, recalling the uncertainty he felt then and how unexpected the outcome turned out to be.
"I was surprised that companies were conducting interviews on the spot. Within a week of the fair, I received a call asking me to come and sign my employment contract."
The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s Industrialists Career Exhibition has grown into a major national platform for recruitment, bringing together dozens of top companies spanning manufacturing, energy, engineering, logistics and supply chain.
This year's two-day event opened on Monday at the Abu Dhabi Energy Centre, offering more than 1,000 job opportunities for UAE nationals. This figure brings the programme's cumulative total since its 2023 launch to more than 5,200 positions — surpassing its 2027 target of 5,000 jobs one year ahead of schedule.
Omar Al Nuaimi, ADNOC's Acting Group Chief for Commercial and ICV, said the exhibition is nothing like a conventional job fair. "We are not just collecting CVs; we are connecting Emirati talent with companies that already have real vacancies," he said.
Employers on the floor are ready to conduct interviews immediately, he added, with most openings concentrated in technical and engineering fields alongside administrative and professional roles across all levels.
This immediacy was exactly what drew Muzoon Mohammed Al Hammadi to the fair. A cybersecurity graduate from Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, she came looking for opportunities in technology, AI, data and cybersecurity — and found the experience worth every hour spent moving from stand to stand.
"It makes it much easier for us to connect directly with companies and explore what suits our specialisations," she said. Beyond the employer access, she added, the fair helped her gain a clearer picture of the career she is pursuing.
Alongside recruitment, the exhibition offers career guidance and mentoring sessions aimed at strengthening candidates' readiness to enter priority industrial sectors.
The fair comes at a pivotal moment for the UAE's economy. The industrial sector has expanded by about 70% since 2021, while exports have hit a record Dh262 billion in 2025 — a transformation that is creating an urgent need for skilled national talent to drive the next phase of growth.
