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Projects of the 50: 10,000 Emiratis to join healthcare sector over next 5 years

Abu Dhabi - The government has introduced the Merit Programme incentives for Emiratis in specialised fields.

The UAE plans to train and recruit 10,000 Emiratis in the healthcare sector over the next five years.

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The shortage of Emirati support workers in the health sector, witnessed during the current Covid-19 pandemic, has prompted the UAE government come up with the decision to train more UAE nationals who will join the medical field as part of the 'Projects of the 50' plan, said Ghannam Al Mazrouei, general secretary of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. The council has been set up to implement and oversee the series of major projects aimed at improving the welfare of citizens and boosting the UAE economy.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Press conference to announce the second batch of the plan's initiatives at Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, Al Mazrouei told Khaleej Times: “Due to the consequences of Covid-19 pandemic, we have observed a shortage of Emirati support workers in the medical sector. As part of the new initiatives, we are targeting a big number of UAE nationals meeting certain criteria to train them on paid scholarships so they can join the health field.”

Al Mazrouei also announced that the council, with 12 members including ministers and chaired by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was set up with the aim to create 75,000 private sector jobs for Emiratis with incentives for them to join it and gain the backing they needed to thrive and prosper.

“The government has introduced the Merit Programme incentives for Emiratis in specialised fields, including nurses, accountants and financial auditors, lawyers, financial analysts and coders, with a monthly bonus of Dh5,000 above their salary for a period of five years,” he said.

“There is also the Pension Programme for those with wages under Dh20,000 and provides a range of subsidies that brings the first-year cost of Emirati pensions down to zero for employers and helps pay for costs over five years.”

The official noted that for the first time, allowances will be paid for the children of Emirati private sector employees.

“The government will pay up to Dh800 for each child and a maximum amount of Dh3,200 per family, for people whose salaries is below Dh20,000,” he said.

The official pointed out that a total of Dh250 million has been allocated to offer the specialised and vocational training programmes for citizens in various sectors and certificates will be given out to the trainees. Monthly financial rewards will also be offered to the UAE nationals to provide them with the experience required to join various jobs in the private sector.

Al Mazrouei explained that the new projects are aimed at boosting the country's human capital and to increase the number of Emiratis employed in the private sector.

“The new projects offer UAE nationals a number of incentives so they can join private sector work over the next five years. We would like to see the private sector very attractive for the highly educated and talented UAE nationals,” he said. The council will develop a strategy that will lure Emiratis to the private sector and also to make the firms attractive for UAE nationals, he added.

The official noted that the government has collaborated with private sector employers to see how they can achieve their target of recruiting as many Emiratis as possible, stressing that the sector has over the past 50 years contributed a lot to the development of the country’s economy.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com