The Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030
SMEs, Emiratisation, Education & The Private Sector
•
Nationals comprise 11% of the workforce. Expatriates make up the remaining 89%. This is one of the
highest proportions of foreign labour in the world.
•
Abu Dhabi’s current labour policies are designed to increase participation by nationals in the workforce,
attract skilled labour and stem the inflow of unskilled workers.
•
Government has traditionally been the employer among nationals. However, in its drive towards a more
efficient public sector, the Government cannot continue in this role for the growing number of jobseekers.
•
The goal is for nationals to become prevalent in the sectors of energy, finance, trade and manufacturing.
•
It is therefore essential that nationals are equipped with the right skills, qualifications and work ethic to
make them competitive in the private sector job market.
•
Quotas have been set for the employment of nationals in certain economic sectors, requiring companies
within those sectors to reach certain levels of “Emiratisation” in their workforce. The banking sector is
required to achieve 4%; the insurance sector 5%; and companies engaged in trade 2%.
•
However, despite these efforts some sectors of private enterprise remain reluctant to hire nationals, based
on cost and skills set concerns.
•
The Emirate’s policies are meant to attract increasing numbers of skilled workers, and encourage
nationals to join the private sector.
•
There is a wide productivity gap between SMEs and large enterprises.
•
Contribution to GDP is highly concentrated in large enterprises, suggesting that there is room for
improvement in the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises.
•
Labour productivity appears to be surprisingly low in the SME sector, suggesting that smaller companies
are not as competitive in Abu Dhabi as elsewhere.
•
In order to encourage the development of SMEs, the Abu Dhabi Government established the AED1bn
Khlaifa Fund, which provides financial and professional assistance to local entrepreneurs.
•
Banks should utilise the present high liquidity levels to finance SME development, rather than fund
consumption patterns.
103