Getting more Emiratis onboard the private sector is a wonderful and well-thought-out initiative. The move forms part of the Projects of the 50, a series of groundbreaking programmes to give a fillip to the UAE’s growth.

It’s like summer sunshine entering the room through a skylight.

The programme will be managed by the newly created Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, a body chaired by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, to build private sector partnerships and drive 75,000 new jobs for Emiratis.

The initiatives include the Emirati Salary Support Scheme, a one-year salary support of up to Dhs8,000 per month paid to Emiratis to incentivise the recruitment and training of graduates in private sector companies. A monthly support of up to Dhs5,000 will be paid for up to five years. Both sets of salary support schemes are subject to certain terms and are based on a range of defined target salaries. The Merit Programme gives a monthly Dhs5,000 top-up to Emirati workers in specialised fields, including nurses, accountants and financial auditors, commercial lawyers, financial analysts and coders; the Pension Programme provides a subsidised five-year government-paid contribution on the company’s behalf against the cost of pension plans for Emirati staff and full support for the Emirati’s contribution across the first five years of their employment.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said, “Empowering our people is at the core of our plans for the future.” He noted that the government programme aims to strengthen the participation of highly qualified Emirati talents in the private sector, which plays a pivotal part in the UAE’s development towards the future.  Sheikh Mohamed added, “We believe in the determination of our citizens to build the region’s most competitive economy.”

Private sector companies will be able to build the Emirati contribution to their workforce over time. Focused on placing Emiratis in the private sector, the effort will start with a target of 2 percent Emiratis in skilled roles contribution rising in scale to a 10 percent Emirati contribution over the coming five years.

Vocational training and development programmes include the Talent Programme, a Dhs1.25 billion investment in developing specialised vocational skills for Emiratis, with internationally recognised certifications in property management, accounting and business management and the Apprentice Programme, a train-to-hire initiative to build vocational training for Emiratis in private and semi-private companies with a range of financial awards across a number of business sectors.

A one-billion-dirham Graduate Fund targets giving microloans to final year university students and fresh graduates in order to support them in exploring new business startups. The scheme will be implemented in collaboration with UAE universities.

The National Healthcare Programme is an educational grant programme that focuses on the development of 10,000 Emirati healthcare workers within the coming five years, rolling out a Graduate Healthcare Assistant Programme, a Higher Diploma in Emergency Medicine and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing.

Alongside the incentive programmes, the Council will also roll out two important new financial support initiatives for Emiratis: the Private Sector Child Allowance Scheme and a new unemployment benefit for Emiratis in the private sector. The Private Sector Child Allowance Scheme, the first childcare allowance in the Emirates, is a monthly grant made to Emirati staff working in the private sector of up to Dhs800 per child up to a maximum of Dhs3,200 per month to help with the costs of childcare up to the age of 21.

The UAE has become an umbrella of magnanimity for all. It provides humanitarian aid to several countries, and that includes Afghanistan. In the latest move, it has dispatched 60 tonnes of food aid to the people of Afghanistan.