Private sector urged to boost Emiratisation

The President’s Initiative Absher will provide more than 20,000 jobs for Emiratis over the next five years, and procedures for the appointment of 1,168 Emirati job seekers to those posts has acutally begun, said Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. Shaikh Mansour said in speech at a glittering ceremony in the capital Abu Dhabi, where he launched the initiative of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Absher aims to boost the participation of the Emiratis in labour market. The ceremony was attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. After honouring the main partners of the initiative, Shaikh Mohammed appreciated the national initiative. “There is an outstanding initiative by President Shaikh Khalifa that seeks to serve the country and the citizens in order to secure a decent life for them”. He extended thanks to Shaikh Mansour for supporting the initiative. He also commended all private sector companies that  supported the initiative, contributing to the development of national income. “I call upon the private sector to participate in these initiatives to contribute to the national economy,” Shaikh Mohammed said, adding that the private sector controls about five million jobs and is the biggest operator in the country. He asked others in the private sector, who have not contributed to such initiatives, to speed up their participation. Shaikh Mohammed honoured a number of ministries, government organisations and institutions, and private companies for backing the initiative and making it a success. He also honoured partners of the initiative who created job opportunities for youth. Earlier, Shaikh Mansour announced the launch of the initiative.? “It is an honour for me to announce the launch of the Absher initiative of Shaikh Khalifa who believes that human resource is the base of the development and the cornerstone for all developmental programmes which are implemented by Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s Government”. He thanked Shaikh Mohammed for participating in the launch of the initiative which will be the cornerstone of the government work programme. “We appreciate Shaikh Mohammed for his dedication towards this cause, and we emphasise that this initiative shall be complementary to all efforts aimed at empowering UAE citizens and strengthening their capabilities in the labour market,” he added. Explaining what Absher is, Shaikh Mansour said the initiative is a multi-pronged strategy, including creating jobs for Emiratis, rehabilitation, training, professional guidance and orientation, encouraging UAE citizens to join the private sector and establishment of strategic partnership with the private sector and other government entities.