Analysis of the obstacles facing the implementation of the ‘nationalisation’ (emiratisation) in the UAE labour market

Placing Emirati nationals in jobs through the Emiratisation policy has become a topic that thoroughly deserves attention. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has made this policy a priority. However, due to obstacles related to organisational inefficiencies and failures of leadership in the public and private sectors, the policy has not been implemented to any significant extent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current situation of the Emiratisation policy, the impact of the policy on skilled and unskilled labour, and the barriers to its implementation. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions: What is the current state of Emiratisation? What has been the impact of Emiratisation on different categories of people (graduates, and skilled and unskilled labour)? What are the obstacles to effective implementation of this policy? Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. The qualitative method employed consisted of semi-structured interviews targeted at leaders (top managements) from the public and private sectors, while the quantitative method was a survey used to elicit data from Emirati nationals. The first question in this study was addressed by surveying the literature about Emiratisation, which found that Emiratisation has not achieved its objectives. It also found that Emiratis' lack required skills in the labour market in general and private sector organisations in particular. As regards question two, the study demonstrated serious concerns about the extent to which Emirati nationals understood Emiratisation. The third question was the core of this study, which focussed on the barriers to the implementation of the policy. The study has demonstrated that a great deal of confusion seems to exist about whether Emiratisation is a policy or a programme (Chapter Eleven). This confusion made it difficult to create a suitable atmosphere that might help the public and private sectors to cooperate in dealing with unemployment among nationals. Furthermore, the study found that higher educational institutions such as universities and colleges have not been engaged in the implementation of the policy. The study also found that the UAE government has not developed a database on the numbers of employed and unemployed, skilled and unskilled Emirati nationals. This would have helped in the planning and implementation of labour market policies. The study also found that leaders in both sectors were not involved in the process of planning and implementation of the policy; this too has hindered the absorption of nationals by organisations. The Emiratisation policy was not translated into programmes and action plans that could have helped in developing the skills of nationals to meet labour market needs. Public and private sectors organisations have not created an effective partnership that could have helped young people‟s (ages 18-30) engagement in the labour market. Both the survey and the interviews thus demonstrated that Emiratisation has not had any significant impact on the labour market, and therefore not on the country‟s economy either