A parliamentary report identified five reasons behind what it called “low Emiratisation rates” in the establishments and institutions of the industrial sector in the country, especially those affiliated with the private sector, most notably the low salaries and privileges in the private sector for citizens in general, as well as the failure of private entities to achieve Emiratisation rates.
The report included proposals that contribute to the development of national industries and the increase in Emiratisation rates, the most important of which is the creation of a legislative mechanism that obliges factory owners to localize supervisory and administrative professions in factories.
In detail, a parliamentary report prepared by the Technical Affairs, Energy and Mineral Resources Committee of the Federal National Council made observations about “the development of the national industry,” most notably “the private sector’s failure to achieve the national target for the Emiratisation index.”
The report, which “Emirates Today” obtained a copy of, called on the Ministries of Industry and Advanced Technology, Human Resources and Emiratisation to raise the percentage of Emiratisation in the industrial sector, find solutions that contribute to creating a strong national economy, demand specialization in various industries, and inform citizen investors of the most important International trade agreements to benefit from the advantages that benefit them and the industrial sector in the country.
The report attributed what it described as “weak Emiratisation rates” in the industrial sector to five main reasons, the first of which is the low salaries and privileges in the private sector for citizens, the failure of private authorities to achieve Emiratisation rates, in addition to the requirement of employers to have experience in exchange for the absence of centers for the rehabilitation and training of graduates likewise. Some countries have established institutes to train graduates.
The list included the citizen’s lack of security for the future of the private sector, the wrong stereotype about some professions and the lack of awareness of their future, stressing the importance of preparing legislation obligating factory owners to settle supervisory and administrative professions.
The report suggested the necessity of coordination between the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, technical and vocational institutes, and relevant authorities, to offer specialized educational programs focusing on skills related to the needs of the industrial labor market.
The Federal National Council adopted a number of recommendations, which it decided to return to the Technical Affairs, Energy and Mineral Resources Committee, to amend its wording according to the conclusions of the members’ discussions.
The most important recommendations reached by the Council included speeding up the updating of Federal Law No. 1 of 1979 in the matter of regulating industrial affairs, and the importance that the draft law regulating industry affairs include defining preferential advantages for national products over foreign industrial products, preparing legislation obligating factory owners to localize professions Supervisory and administrative, while setting a minimum salary, imposing severe penalties for violating this legislation, coordinating with technical and professional institutes and relevant authorities to offer specialized educational programs, and adopting a road map for the settlement of the industrial sector.
Attracting national talent
The parliamentary report stressed the need to find a mechanism for calculating local content in the government procurement and competition system, and to include a mandatory list of national products in government procurement approved by the specifications and standards in the ministry.
He stated that if the national strategy for industry and advanced technology emphasizes providing more job opportunities for citizens, it is important to take into account the development of means to attract national competencies to work in the industrial sector, and to devise tools and methods to develop the efficiency of actually workers in the industrial sector, so that they are classified as skilled workers, pointing out To the importance of establishing an incentive system to encourage citizens to enter the industrial sector, whether to invest in it or gain technical and administrative expertise, and the need for colleges and universities to focus on specialized industrial skills, especially those related to the needs of the industrial labor market, which has become focused on advanced technology.