Mohammed Al Gergawi announces new projects during the media conference on Sunday.

Sallam Abu Shehab, Staff Reporter

The UAE on Sunday unveiled a sweeping programme of reforms and financial incentives to drive new private sector opportunities for both young and experienced Emiratis, with an investment of Dhs24 billion ($6.53b) to create 75,000 new private sector jobs for Emiratis.

"A decent life for our citizens, their children and the generations to come remains our greatest priority," said President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. "Working with the private sector to enhance career prospects is the way to ensure that those opportunities endure for decades to come."

Announcing the new initiatives, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said, "As we mark our fiftieth year as a nation, we are evolving from building world-class national infrastructure to creating brilliant sources of value and human capital. Our people are our pride and our future and we are investing to build the ideas and aspirations of our youth to create new futures in our successful business, trade and knowledge economy."

Sheikh Mohammed said on Twitter, “Within the second package of the Projects of the 50, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa directed the allocation of Dhs24 billion to boost the private sector to accommodate 75,000 citizens through supporting the citizens' salaries in the private sector, disbursing bonuses for their children, training and rehabilitating them, as well as establishing a new fund to support graduate projects.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum with Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“Today, we have clear and supported targets for the proportion of citizens in the private sector. The future is in the private sector. The government and the private sector are partners in the homeland, partners in the development, and partners in the future. The next fifty are more beautiful and better, God willing,” H. H Sheikh Mohammed added.

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Meanwhile, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed said on Twitter, “Consistent with our ambitions to empower our people and enhance the strength and sustainability of our economy, the UAE is launching a dedicated plan to boost the employment of UAE Nationals in the private sector, which will play a vital role in our nation’s long-term development.”

UAE ministers and other top dignitaries attend the ceremony on Sunday. WAM

Al Gergawi announced the allocation of Dhs24 billion to accommodate 75,000 citizens in the private sector during the next five years, as an integrated federal government programme dubbed as “Nafis” featuring 13 projects to support the private sector to accommodate these numbers. He further announced the formation of the “Emirati Cadres Competitiveness Council” to develop long-term strategic plans to support citizens in the private sector.

Among the projects is the “Salaries Support for Citizens in Private Sector” through which the government bears the cost of training citizens in the private sector for up to a full year with a monthly salary of Dhs8,000 for university graduates, and Dhs5,000 monthly for 5 years after employment.

The projects also include the “Mazaya” programme, which aims at supporting citizens working in distinguished specialisations in the private sector, such as coders, nurses, accountants, and others, with a fixed bonus of Dhs5,000 per month plus the salary for a period of five years.

He also announced disbursing bonuses of up to Dhs800 per child of citizens working in the private sector with a maximum of Dhs3,200.

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 per cent Emiratis in skilled roles contribution rising in scale to a 10 per cent Emirati contribution over the coming five years.

Vocational training and development programmes, include the Talent Programme, an 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.

An Dhs1 billion Graduate Fund is to be dedicated to 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 targets 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.

The Programme is supported and led by Fatima College of Health Sciences and the Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ACTVET).