Emiratisation

Abstract:
Dissertation Submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for Award of the degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY.

The root causes of the GCC's employment problems are interlocked – a system of national education that has largely not been competitive or well aligned with the needs of modern industry, a culture of citizens conditioned to a protective government, a public sector that is overstaffed and inefficient, and counterproductive policies in areas such as immigration and social welfare. It is also reflected in the highly distorted labour market in the region, founded on a socio-ethnic duality. In some respects the labour market is rigid, with pronounced differences in the wages for non-nationals and nationals. In other aspects it is flexible as current laws make it very easy to import or deport foreigners based on hiring/firing. This is also why“unemployment” is a national issue, for if and when a foreigner‟s work visa is terminated, he or she is obliged to return to the home country.
In the final analysis  –
• At the GCC level, the dissertation research disproves the hypothesis that growing numbers of GCC nationals have entered the private sector due to workforce nationalisation programmes, replacing foreign labour.
• The second hypothesis has been validated in that the growing mismatch between available local labour and the labour market requirements has undermined the success of Emiratisation.
• Finally, the failure of Emiratisation has been concluded while validating the hypothesis that Indian labour migration to the UAE has been vigorous despite Emiratisation.

This paper addresses a key social–cultural aspect of sustainability in the Gulf region: Workforce localization (WL). Our research objective is to empirically explore organizational socialization (OS) practices in the context of WL in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where National Citizens (NCs) are a powerful minority in the workforce. This research adopts a qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews with managers in charge of the WL program in 14 organizations in the UAE, across different industrial sectors and ownership. We found five major OS practices: Establishing thorough orientation programs, providing formal training programs (skills, diversity/cultural awareness, supervisor, mentoring and coaching team building), redesigning NCs’ jobs and work teams, engaging expatriates in NCs’ OS processes, and organizing networking events. All organizations rigorously evaluated the effectiveness of their OS practices. This study contributes to the empirical literature on m...

Following four decades of unprecedented economic, social, and cultural change, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) labor market is highly segmented: The native population is almost exclusively employed in the government sector, while the private sector is effectively outsourced to foreigners. This has created an unsustainable situation with growing numbers of young citizens reaching working age and with a public sector that has reached the saturation point. Policymakers repeatedly try to legislate to encourage private-sector employers to hire citizens. These policies have had limited success. We explored the career attitudes of 2,267 United Arab Emirates citizens prior to their entry into the labor market. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the social contract and resulting expectations toward state employment have strong implications for willingness to work in the private sector.

This MBA research project explores the gaps that appear to exist between the attitudes and expectations of UAE nationals and the HR strategies and practices of private sector companies in the United Arab Emirates.

Primary data was collected through an online survey of final-year UAE national students in Dubai and through semi-structured interviews with HR managers in private sector organisations. Secondary data from a survey exploring the reasons for UAE nationals' resignations from private sector companies was also included.

The results yielded rich insights into UAE nationals’’awareness of employment opportunities in the private sector, their attitudes, values and priorities towards employment, and how this relates to the HR ‘‘best practice’’ that contributes to the successful employment of UAE nationals in private sector organisations. The research revealed the need for organisations in the private sector to keep pace with the basic requirements of UAE national employees, while at the same time focussing on developing a powerful offer in terms of learning and development, long-term career management and opportunities for promotion. The research further suggests that the future success of Emiratisation initiatives may be dependent on the ability of organisations to foster greater levels of organisational commitment among their Emirati employees. A final insight to emerge was the strongly expressed desire on the part of UAE nationals for training on working in diverse teams.

The states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Each of these nations has enjoyed rapid economic growth, even while struggling with the social, economic and political consequences of extensive reliance on a large expatriate workforce. The need to create more employment opportunities for local citizens has gained increasing attention throughout the GCC over the past 30 years, with each member country adopting some form of politically-led localisation initiative (Al–Dosary and Rahman, 2005; Looney and Hamad, 2004; Rees, Mamman and Bin Braik, 2007).
Labor localisation programs can be described as the recruitment and development of citizens to increase their employability, thereby reducing the country’s dependence on an expatriate workforce (Cave, 2004). These efforts have been formally defined as “a multi-level process through which dependency on the expatriate labor force is reduced and nationals are prepared to take up jobs performed by expatriates” (Abdelkarim, 2001:56). These efforts date back to at least the early 1980s in Saudi Arabia, but Oman adopted a moderately successful program in 1995 and the UAE has become something of a policy leader in recent years.

For member states of the GCC, the development of human capabilities, especially in nationals, is recognized as a major strategic priority. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) economic strategy, Bahrain 2030 vision, Qatar vision 2030, Oman five-year strategic plan, Kuwait development plan and UAE strategy 2011-21 share a common emphasis on human development. Each of the GCC countries invests extensively in the education and development of its people. Government policy and legislation to enhance participation of nationals in the workforce have changed the human resources landscape in the GCC (Randeree, 2009), and made labor localisation a significant staffing consideration for international businesses operating in this particular region (Looney and Hamad, 2004; Mellahi, 2007; Rees et al., 2007). It has become increasingly unlikely for a large organisation to establish itself in the GCC without some plan to address the localisation of human resources (Randeree, 2009).

Human resources are the “organizationally relevant capabilities of groups and individuals” (Scott-Jackson et al., 2014a), and strategic HRM is defined as “the development of a consistent aligned collection of practices, programs and policies to facilitate the achievement of the organization’s strategic objectives” (Mello, 2006: 152). According to these definitions, then HRM has a key role to play in the economic and social achievement of national and organisational strategies in the GCC countries (Scott-Jackson et al., 2014a).

However, although anecdotal records and literature on localisation exist in most GCC countries—particularly in the UAE, KSA and Oman—there is still a lack of academic and empirical research on localisation programs and the HRM practices that support them. Given the importance of these programs for the GCC countries and the enabling role that HRM could play, it is surprising to find relatively few published articles about HRM practices that further the employment of nationals. Although several researchers have addressed particular HR practices with respect to localisation, there has been no comprehensive study encompassing the key HR processes. The difficulty of collecting reliable statistical and empirical data as well as the challenges of conducting research in the region generally may be contributing factors to this deficit (Williams, Bhanugopan and Fish, 2011; Harry, 2007).

This chapter reviews the literature on labor localisation programs in the GCC countries and the HRM practices that facilitate the implementation of these programs. It is organized as follows: first, we examine the literature on core issues pertinent to this theme, such as demographic and labor-market characteristics in the GCC, the objectives of these localisation programs, and the major components of localisation policies. Second, we review the literature on HRM practices that facilitate the implementation of localisation programs. Third, we review multiple challenges related to the implementation of these programs. Finally, we present some recommendations intended to enhance the impact of localisation efforts.

Background: Nursing started in the United Arab Emirates with the arrival of expatriate nurses in the latter part of the nineteen century, but fifty years on though, nursing education in the country is still in its infancy, and currently only 3% of the local population are taking up the profession as a career choice in the country. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to explore the experience of nursing education leaders in dealing with this issue. Design: Unstructured interviews were conducted with select nursing leaders in the country to explore their experiences. Findings: Nursing leaders from different spheres of the profession had different experiences and responsibilities, and tackled the problem from different perspectives. Conclusion: The paper has several implications for nursing education and policy in the United Arab Emirates and the region.

The fastest growing economy in the Middle East,
the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—with Dubai ranked
29th in 2011 in the Global Financial Centers Index
worldwide—has a private sector capable of creating
tens of thousands of new jobs every year (Al Ali, 2013).
Yet, many Emiratis prefer to remain unemployed
rather than work in the private sector, contributing
to an unemployment rate of nearly 12% (Sharif,
2013). Many Emiratis prefer to remain unemployed
rather than work in the private sector because private
sector salaries are perceived to be lower than public
sector salaries. Sharif (2013), supported by Toledo
(2013), adds that unemployment will increase as an
estimated 13,000 Emirati college graduates enter the
workforce each year and raise to the number of firsttime
Emirati job seekers to over 200,000 (nearly 25%
of the entire Emirati population) within 10 years.
This paper uses the findings of a recent study on family
involvement in Emirati college student education to
show how families contribute to the development of
the attitudes, beliefs, and opinions of young people,
some of which prove counter-productive in the
workplace. According to Al Ali (2013), through the
mid-2000s, Emiratis entering the workforce had little
difficulty securing positions in the public sector, which
paid high salaries and required only a basic education.
However, by the late 2000s through the time of this
paper, Al Ali, along with Sharif (2013) and Toledo
(2013), found that in order to enter the workforce,
Emiratis needed at least a college education and that
there were few opportunities to work in the public
sector. This paper explores the social and cultural
factors that influence many young Emiratis to avoid
considering positions in the private sector. The
paper gives recommendations on how educational
institutions and labor policy makers can join forces
to reshape young Emiratis’ attitudes, opinions, and
values by raising their awareness of their need to
obtain higher education credentials and to work
in the private sector. These institutions and policy
makers can also initiate programs in the workplace
and throughout the educational environment of

The use of quota systems to improve demographic diversity in organisations is receiving mixed responses from commentators. This paper demonstrates that the normative success and failure of a quota system is contingent upon the multilevel and relational dynamics of the diversity management intervention which uses the tool of quotas. Focusing on a quota system, which seeks to promote localisation of the workforce in the United Arab Emirates, this paper presents a longitudinal case study. We analyse the multilevel dynamics of the implementation of the quota system to show how the interdependence of these levels influenced the outcome of the quota programme. The study also accounts for the complexity of normative assessment of the quota based diversity intervention, by illustrating how a diverse set of vested interests, a multiplicity of discourses, and the interplay of schemas of change, support and resistance between managers and employees come into play.

LAS PERLAS EN KUWAIT Y LA FORMACIÓN DE LOS SECTORES BURGUESES

RESUMEN
La aparición de los pescadores de perlas en Kuwait se intensificó desde la asunción del clan Al-Sabah durante el siglo XVIII, siendo el principal recurso comercial que usufructuó el emirato hasta la irrupción del petróleo en el periodo entreguerras. Las relaciones económicas de la familia real con los principales mercados europeos de la época, el Imperio Británico y otras potencias serán analizadas en el presente trabajo cuyo objetivo principal es esclarecer cuales fueron los principales entramados comerciales que giraron en torno a la actividad pesquera. Asimismo, se abordará el surgimiento de los ascendentes sectores burgueses.

Palabras clave: Perlas-Sectores Burgueses-Kuwait-Golfo Pérsico

ABSTRACT
The appearance of pearls fishermen was intensified since the arrival of Al-Sabah clan during the 18th.Century. Pearling was the main commercial resource which the emirate usufructs until the oil boom at the inter-war period. The economical relations between the royal family and the main markets of that time, which highlighted Great Britain and other important ones in the rest of the world, will be analyzed in this job which its main goal will be to clarify which were the main commercial schemes, were revolved around the fishing activity. Also, the appearance of rising middle-class sector will be emphasized.

Keywords: Pearls-Middle Class-Kuwait-Persian Gulf.

This paper addresses a key social-cultural aspect of sustainability in the Gulf region: Workforce localization (WL). Our research objective is to empirically explore organizational socialization (OS) practices in the context of WL in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where National Citizens (NCs) are a powerful minority in the workforce. This research adopts a qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews with managers in charge of the WL program in 14 organizations in the UAE, across different industrial sectors and ownership. We found five major OS practices: Establishing thorough orientation programs, providing formal training programs (skills, diversity/cultural awareness, supervisor, mentoring and coaching team building), redesigning NCs' jobs and work teams, engaging expatriates in NCs' OS processes, and organizing networking events. All organizations rigorously evaluated the effectiveness of their OS practices. This study contributes to the empirical literature on management OS, WL, and diversity management in a non-western, emerging Arab country. It contributes to theory development on the content of OS practices, showing how a minority can be a powerful group around whom socialization processes are tailored to integrate them fully into the organization. Practically, our findings inform managers of how to adapt their existing OS practices to the specific needs of minority members, and support Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-based organizations and policymakers with the design, monitoring, and implementation of WL programs, and with the development of a sustainable workforce.

After the discovery of oil in 1970s, the United Arab Emirates experienced explosive growth and was able to establish a strong economy in 30 years. Since then, the country has attracted foreign direct investment, and it has maintained its growth strategy by relying on foreign skilled labourers from around the world. Consequently, Emirati nationals were predominantly recruited to and preferred the public sector. Today, as government growth stagnates, the United Arab Emirates’ government is encouraging the private sector to recruit more Emirati nationals. This paper analyzes the current Emiratisation process by looking into the barriers to it via a content analysis of business-focused newspapers published in the country. Unlike previous research, this paper prioritizes the challenges in descending order: skill standards, salary and bene- fits, and business hours. These challenges have impeded the recruitment of Emirati nationals into the private sector.

This paper addresses a key social-cultural aspect of sustainability in the Gulf region: Workforce localization (WL). Our research objective is to empirically explore organizational socialization (OS) practices in the context of WL in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where National Citizens (NCs) are a powerful minority in the workforce. This research adopts a qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews with managers in charge of the WL program in 14 organizations in the UAE, across different industrial sectors and ownership. We found five major OS practices: Establishing thorough orientation programs, providing formal training programs (skills, diversity/cultural awareness, supervisor, mentoring and coaching team building), redesigning NCs' jobs and work teams, engaging expatriates in NCs' OS processes, and organizing networking events. All organizations rigorously evaluated the effectiveness of their OS practices. This study contributes to the empirical literat...

After the discovery of oil in 1970s, the United Arab Emirates experienced explosive growth and was able to establish a strong economy in 30 years. Since then, the country has attracted foreign direct investment, and it has maintained its growth strategy by relying on foreign skilled labourers from around the world. Consequently, Emirati nationals were predominantly recruited to and preferred the public sector. Today, as government growth stagnates, the United Arab Emirates’ government is encouraging the private sector to recruit more Emirati nationals. This paper analyzes the current Emiratisation process by looking into the barriers to it via a content analysis of business-focused newspapers published in the country. Unlike previous research, this paper prioritizes the challenges in descending order: skill standards, salary and bene- fits, and business hours. These challenges have impeded the recruitment of Emirati nationals into the private sector. Keywords: Emiratisation; challen...

This paper addresses a key social–cultural aspect of sustainability in the Gulf region: Workforce localization (WL). Our research objective is to empirically explore organizational socialization (OS) practices in the context of WL in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where National Citizens (NCs) are a powerful minority in the workforce. This research adopts a qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews with managers in charge of the WL program in 14 organizations in the UAE, across different industrial sectors and ownership. We found five major OS practices: Establishing thorough orientation programs, providing formal training programs (skills, diversity/cultural awareness, supervisor, mentoring and coaching team building), redesigning NCs’ jobs and work teams, engaging expatriates in NCs’ OS processes, and organizing networking events. All organizations rigorously evaluated the effectiveness of their OS practices. This study contributes to the empirical literature on m...

Throughout the millennia the Persian Gulf region has experienced extensive migration with diverse ethnicities, cultures, and religions. Notably, major migratory movements between Arabs and Iranians across the waterway have dominated the history of the area. Integration and accommodation of new inhabitants into preexisting communities can prove challenging for multinational states, particularly with many of the member states from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). With the exception of Oman, the states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are temporally new countries to the international system and have had challenges in accommodating multinational societies. In the case of the UAE the state sponsored Emiratization program is one of the many tools implemented by the country in an attempt to create a unified ethnic, cultural, and national identity rather than address the multiethnic status that had already existed and was established in the area. Discrimination and further societal segregation of groups not deemed a part of the dominant national identity and state even more so convoluted the difficulties in potentially resolving the issue. As a result of state-promoted nationalistic movements the subjects of state wealth, distribution of resources, citizenship, and nationality are becoming themes of increasing importance in the Emirates especially when considering the future of the country. With the economic progression of the state and the imminent World Expo hosted by the emirate of Dubai in 2020, integration of multiethnic groups to a cohesive and balanced national identity without the erosion or exclusion of other groups that have historically inhabited the region seems unrealistic forecasting. Consequently, understanding the facets comprising the situation provides insight to the future of state wealth and its relationship with migrant communities as well as nationalism is vital. Sovereign Wealth Funds, the Emiratization program, as well as the many communities within the UAE will be covered to address the topic.

The social structure in United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, is based on tribal familial affiliations in which opinions and viewpoints of parents and other family elders heavily influence the decisions of younger Emiratis. At the same time, rapid and progressive economic development has caused social transitions in which each consecutive generation is raised with a vastly different set of social circumstances than the preceding generation.  This study investigated the types and intensity of family involvement in Emirati college student education, family involvement associated with high and low achievement, and family involvement influencing career preparation. Links were examined between family involvement and high unemployment among Emirati young people, a pressing concern for policy makers in the GCC region.
A bilingual online survey was given to 1173 Emirati college students with 66 items in two parts; a)demographic questions and b)rating questions examining type and intensity of family involvement behaviors, and examining students’ attitudes and opinions.  Guardians of 30 randomly selected guardians answer an Arabic phone survey. Data were examined using:  a)descriptive statistics and correlations for an overview and b) composite indicators to examine the association of differing demographic variables and family involvement behaviors on student achievement and students’ attitudes and opinions.
The results of the study showed that families of Emirati college students tended to provide abundant financial and emotional support but often lacked ability or willingness to provide effective academic support.  Further, evidence from the study suggests that some family involvement behaviors may contribute to students developing counter-productive workplace attitudes and decision-making processes about program choices and career planning.  Policy makers can use the study’s recommendations to channel family involvement into more effective academic support and to develop attitudes about work that align more closely to the Leadership’s economic  vision for the country.

Understanding sustainability implies, among other factors, to grasp cultural perceptions of the environment and our impact on it. Both, sustainability and anthropology, are therefore intrinsically intertwined and a growing number of studies have been conducted to examine these relationships [2]. Sustainability and anthropology where they stand, include cultural competencies. This research is comparing and contrasting the word sustainability to intergenerational transgenerational perspectives, aiming to define the term from an United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s perspective. Fieldwork methods used for this research were ethnographic such as Participant-Observation (P-O), informal interviews, focus-groups. Moreover, surveys have been distributed to eligible students at the American University in the Emirates (AUE). In this research the focus was sustainability from a cultural perspective: how did the cultural competencies (socially and religiously) influence the lifestyle of elderly UAE generation and the new UAE young population (AUE students). The research results aim to teach the UAE millennial generation how to be sustainable from the elderly in relation to the new modern times. In the end, we intend to reconsider/re-imagine our contemporary practices and our relationship to the environment by drawing inspiration from the knowledge of the elders. Based on the data analysis, we offer three recommendations: open a baraka club in schools, integrate the elderly in higher-education and create cross-generational workshops, and lastly, learn from the past when it comes to architecture, reusable materials and energy.

ABSTRACT Following four decades of unprecedented economic, social, and cultural change, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) labor market is highly segmented: The native population is almost exclusively employed in the government sector, while the private sector is effectively outsourced to foreigners. This has created an unsustainable situation with growing numbers of young citizens reaching working age and with a public sector that has reached the saturation point. Policymakers repeatedly try to legislate to encourage private-sector employers to hire citizens. These policies have had limited success. We explored the career attitudes of 2,267 United Arab Emirates citizens prior to their entry into the labor market. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the social contract and resulting expectations toward state employment have strong implications for willingness to work in the private sector

Who Are We Trying to Include?  Eight Year Demographic Study Reveals Traits of  Transitioning Young Emirati Adults in a Rapidly Developing Society
Dr. Georgia Daleure, Higher Colleges of Technology
Mr. Mohamed Rashid, Higher Colleges of Technology
Mr. Salman Alaskar, Higher Colleges of Technology
Mr. Humaid BinMasoud, Higher Colleges of Technology
Mr. Musab Ibrahim, Higher Colleges of Technology
Mr. Mohamed Anwar, Higher Colleges of Technology

The society of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in transition as the economy progresses through phases of growth and as the citizens adapt to the changes that the growth brings.  Researchers investigate ways to include rather than exclude Emiratis in the rapidly developing economy, but who are the Emirati young adults that are being targeted for inclusion?  Few studies are available that give more than brief snapshots of small data samples.  This quantitative study uses data gathered from selected items over an 8 year period as Emirati students entered a federally funded post-secondary institution.  The study contributes to the hard to find body of knowledge on demographic trends of young Emirati adults and creates a composite description of the  population that is being targeted for inclusion in educational , employment, and sustainability programs.  The results include tend data broken down by gender in 34 areas including household size, educational level of parents, language of secondary education instruction, marital status, employment preferences, computer / internet usage, international exposure, and preferences in leisure activities.  Results of the study show increases in: students working part-time while studying, willing to work shifts, females obtaining driving licenses, married students in post-secondary education, average age of first year students, and returning students.  The study links these trends to the transitioning economic and social environment of the UAE.
Keywords: Social Trends in UAE, Young Emirati Adults, Post-secondary Education in UAE

Twenty years before the UAE became a country through Federation, it’s economy began to expand rapidly, transforming Emirati society from an impoverished collection of tribal states into one of the world’s richest nations. But despite this success, there is persistent unemployment among Emiratis which is only likely to get worse as more young people enter the workforce, and more women seek a working lifestyle. Almost all employed Emiratis work in the public sector, despite persistent efforts by government to promote private sector employment through subsidies and ‘Emiratization’ quotas. Salaries and benefits provided by the public sector effectively set a minimum wage for Emiratis. The private sector cannot match these salaries at the junior professional or lower skilled levels, though at the higher levels they far exceed public sector salaries. If the private sector were forced to employ and up-skill Emiratis, it would become less competitive, and this could undermine the continued rapid expansion of the UAE economy.

The UAE faces a bind that is common to all GCC countries. It has benefited greatly from expatriate labor which is cheap and versatile, and can provide everything from manual labor to professional expertise. Through this labor they have sustained rapid growth over decades. On the other hand, although Emiratis have benefited financially from this growth, most are not yet active participants in it. Now, the country must create jobs for its youth in the private sector (1) to prevent youth unemployment from skyrocketing, (2) to minimize spiraling government wages and pension costs, (3) to integrate Emirati society into the Emirati economy and (4) to embrace innovation and entrepreneurship. However, how can the country ask its youth to compete for jobs with expatriates, sourced from wherever in the world they are cheapest?

Emirati lifestyle expectations have grown in line with the economy. Expectations for the quality of housing, cars, holidays, and weddings have all risen, as has the quantity of domestic assistance. However, an efficient work ethic is yet to emerge to sustain these expectations. Many jobs have too low a status for Emiratis to take, and this includes most technical and trade based jobs. Consequently, entrepreneurship has become limited because Emiratis are not involved in a large segment of the economy. Women’s participation in the workforce is increasing rapidly, though they are still expected to prioritize child rearing over work. Emiratis tend to undervalue workplace performance, since a person who has been given a management job has already earned their status. Finally, Emiratis have a high expectation for free government services, which has broken the conceptual link between work and income.

Among oil-rich economies, the UAE government has been exceptional in using its wealth to raise lifestyles of all its citizens, while building the country’s non-oil economy. The primary goal of labor policy is to sustain that lifestyle for future generations.

In this presentation, I will outline some of the issues that make the job market for Emiratis unique, and unusually unpredictable.  The presentation draws from census data, the Strategic Plans of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, consultancies (McKinsey, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Booz & Co), United Nations organizations (IMF, WEF), scholarly articles, and other sources.