To facilitate the recruitment of the largest number of UAE nationals in all fields across companies in the UAE: that was the challenge that Careers UAE 2008 tried to meet this year.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated the annual recruitment, training and education exhibition targeted at UAE nationals last week. He toured the exhibition, encouraging companies to recruit UAE nationals.
The three-day event, held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, hosted 217 international and local recruiting companies.
It was organised in conjunction with the Emirates National Development Programme (ENDP), Tanmia, Higher Colleges of Technology, Zayed University and the UAE University.
Exploring the market
Crowds of students visited the exhibition, pausing at specific booths to ask questions related to training and career options. Some students said that they were interested in exploring the market before graduation, while others said they were seeking immediate employment.
Sara Abdul Wahab Al Madani, a business graduate, visited the exhibition with her fellow graduate Noora Saeed Al Shamsi. Both Dubai Women's College (DWC) graduates, Sara and Noora said that they were looking for a job with flexible timings.
"We are in temporary employment at DWC until we find the perfect job. The careers fair is very useful because it puts all companies together for the students to search for jobs," Noora said.
A group of students from Zayed University said that they were looking for training prospects. "Even though I am a business and communications major, I am looking at training in any department because I am still in my second year at university," said Shaikha Al Mahri.
Mouza Rashed, a communication and social and behavioural sciences student, agreed. "We want to enhance our skills and our English language so training is beneficial for us," she said.
Recruiting 20,000 UAE nationals
"The exhibition aspires to achieve the Emiratisation target set by the government, which has already started in some sectors, such as banking, insurance, public relations and human resources," said Asma Mohammad Al Sharif, projects manager of Careers UAE 2008.
Around 20,000 UAE nationals were expected to visit the exhibition, said Asma.Tanmia, the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority, had a key role to play in the Emiratisation initiative.
The company signed at the exhibition Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with several companies and with the ENDP to plan future cooperation on the employment of UAE nationals. The two recruiting companies will manage their database of unemployed UAE nationals and match them with suitable companies and sectors.
"By the end of the year, we want to have recruited 2,500 UAE nationals to all sectors in companies all over the UAE," said Noora Al Bedur, manager of the Employment and Skill Development Centre at Tanmia.
Noora explained how the process of recruitment takes place. The agency coordinates between the company and the jobseeker, keeping the company's recruitment strategies in mind.
"We give our applicants the training they need to polish their skills and enter the labour market. We have specially-tailored programmes for the companies according to their fields."
Emiratisation
Representatives from companies answered visitors' questions on vacancies, the skills needed, the expectations and packages offered.
Fahad Al Hassawi, executive vice president of human resources at du, said that the telecommunications company is looking for UAE nationals for positions at all levels in the company. "Currently, 22 per cent of our employees are UAE nationals; 40 per cent of them are in top management.
We made it our biggest commitment to recruit UAE nationals. . . . We are looking for employees for the engineering department, the call centre and retail centre and many other departments," he said.
Jobseekers do not necessarily have to be university graduates since every new recruit receives training for the job. "Being in the job is an experience on its own," said Jamal Lootah, Director, National Recruitment and Development of Human Resources.
"Students should not be shy because knowing the product and dealing with customers is very important."
Located almost in the centre of Zabeel Hall was Dubai Holding, one of the largest companies in the UAE, with several smaller companies under its umbrella.
Nasser Al Awadi, executive director of human capital at TECOM Investments, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, said that the organisation does not have a specific figure to reach as part of its Emiratisation drive, but does recruit UAE nationals rigorously.
"We place applicants according to their skills, knowledge and interest, giving UAE nationals priority. We aim for quality, not quantity, and select recruits to the right jobs so that it also falls in line with the organisation and advancement," he said.
Commenting on the fair, he said, "It is a good opportunity for fresh graduates, high school students and other applicants to understand the market and careers."
Recruits for new projects
Students visiting the Dubai World Central (DWC) stand were introduced to the new airport project in Jebel Ali. "Students are confused about all the projects in Dubai as there are new projects constantly being set up," said Hassan Hokal, human resources group director.
"We try to answer questions about this project and introduce them to the vacancies. We need employees in facility management, maintenance, networking, telecommunications. . . . We are looking for multicultural graduates and people with experience to run the airport."
He said that the company is taking applications from people with special needs. He added, "DWC employees will work with international companies, undergo training and have a lot of international exposure." The company is currently introducing scholarships for students at universities in the UAE.
Young Entrepreneurs Competition
Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Culture and Arts Authority, inaugurated the Young Entrepreneurs Competition being run concurrently with the fair in coordination with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders.
The contest had invited groups of students from schools to present their entrepreneurial projects with the aim of setting up their own private business in future.
Groups of students attended to their booths, marketing their products. Roudha Baker, a grade 12 student at Al Mawakeb School, was displaying accessories to some customers.
Her store was named Emarati Licious. "We have collected coins from every country … we have coins from the UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia," she said.
A group from the Sharjah American International School had established their own fashion line, calling it Fisfori. Amnah Al Nuaimi created the designs by computer, while Lamya Al Suwaidi did the knitting.
Their partner, Shaikha Al Shamsi, was in charge of the organisation and marketing of the project.
"We always wanted to make this project, but being part of the competition and having deadlines pushed us to do more," said Amnah. "We have all the resources in the UAE and we can make clothes ourselves, so why import them?"
Mini zoo
Another group from Al Sufouh Secondary School for Girls had a mini-zoo display at their booth. They had everything from snakes to rabbits, turtles, cats and birds.
"We care for animals and want kids to enjoy our booth. We also included an entertainment section for the kids to paint, play with toys and have a good time," said Alia Al Shinqiti.
The winners of the competition will be announced next month.
Gulf News at the careers fair
Recruiters at Gulf News were positive about the response they received from graduates and students at Careers UAE 2008.
Saeed Al Saadi from the Gulf News personnel department said the organisation received about 50 CVs per day at the fair.
About three or four people will be offered employment from this pool. However, if recruiters see potential in an applicant, "we will create an opportunity for them," said Gulf News personnel officer Nilanjana Javed.
According to Al Saadi most of the graduates and students were interested in jobs in the fields of business, IT and human resources.
"We have mostly ladies coming (to the exhibition booth). The men are not very interested in working for a newspaper and [they] look for government jobs."
The students mostly asked questions about salaries, the number of vacation days and the hours they would work said Al Saadi.
Although government jobs have shorter working hours, they carry the same benefits as those in the private sector, contrary to popular belief, he said. Javed added that students also enquired about part time and summer jobs.
The positions available are in the following departments:
n Editorial Department: Reporter, sub editor, feature writer, photographer, designer, web editor, translator
n Marketing Sales and Distribution: Advertising sales, advertisement control, credit control, direct marketing, publication sales, distribution, promotions, call centre
n Production: Printing, pre-press, finishing, mailroom, technical support, production planning, procurement
n Radio: Programming, presenter, marketing, promotions
nInformation technology: IT solutions, system support and services to the entire organisation
n Finance
n Human resources: Recruitment, training and development, public relations, payroll administration, human resources systems administration (HRSA)
