Emirati women seek career boost

A number of qualified Emirati women flocked to the UAE’s largest careers exhibition that concluded yesterday at Dubai World Trade Center. More than 150 exhibitors have been offering job opportunities, academic programs and training courses for job seekers at the exhibition. The event is in line with the government’s Emiratization objective, which states that Emiratis should make up at least 15 percent of the total staff in a private company. According to the UAE Ministry of Labor, there are only 22,000 Emiratis in the private sector — 9.7 percent of the total Emirati workforce. At least half of the visitors to the fair were female job seekers and the event was only UAE nationals and HR practitioners. Among the high-profile companies exhibiting at Careers UAE Exhibition was Emirates Group. Massoma Hassan Abdullah, vice president for Emiratization at Emirates Airlines, was impressed by the 400 applications received from job seekers on the first day alone. “What is even more impressive than the number itself is the exceptional qualifications because we are seeing many candidates with postgraduate degrees,” said Massoma. “This illustrates that Emiratis are raising the bar in academic excellence. To accelerate the recruitment process at Careers UAE Exhibition, we are conducting same-day testing for visitors, after which we invite them for interviews,” said Massoma. Samar Badri, regional director of HR at Jumeirah Group, said that they had received over 200 applications on the first day alone and that was due to young Emiratis’ keen interest in the hospitality industry.” A shift in mindsets is underway as more Emiratis are now seriously targeting creative positions such as magazine editor, according to Yasmine Rasool, Space Project Director at Brownbook. The popular segment in event was the Emirati Women Leaders Panel which was held in a special women-only session Mariam Matar, founder and board chairperson of the UAE Genetic Diseases Association; Fatma Mohammed Salem Al Khaqaq SVP, Commercial Unit, Economic Zones World, Jafza; and Hessa Al-Ghurair, head of human resources at Tanfeeth, were heading the panel. “It is vital to educate young Emirati women on the place of leadership we can hold in the community and the labor market. Our priority should be to transform ambition and talent into leadership, and to understand and respect the difference in strength and skills in men and women,” said Mariam Matar, while addressing the panel. “If Emirati women let their ambition and drive lead them, they can have a stronghold on the labor market and a pathway toward great things,” said Fatma Salem, senior vice president, Commercial Unit, Economic Zone World. Source: ArabNews