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As part of the ongoing efforts to boost nationalisation, the UAE will spend 24 billion dirhams ($6.53 billion) in the next five years to create jobs for 75,000 UAE nationals in the private sector, officials said on Sunday, announcing the latest tranche of economic reforms.
The country, which aims to have 10 percent of private company positions filled with UAE citizens in five years, has also unveiled a series of initiatives to extend financial support and aid career development for local residents. Within the healthcare field alone, the government aims to have 10,000 of its citizens working as nurses within five years.
Government monetary assistance will include pension fund or retirement contributions, training costs, child support and salary aid, with monthly allowances ranging between 800 dirhams and 8,000 dirhams.
The majority of positions in private-run companies in the UAE are occupied by expatriates. Most of the UAE nationals are concentrated in government offices.
As of 2010, the Emirati population stood at less than one million (947,947), while the rest of the residents (more than 7 million) were expatriates, according to official sources.
At the launch of the latest set of initiatives on Sunday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, highlighted the importance of increasing the participation of UAE nationals in private companies.
“The future is in the private sector… the government and private sector are partners ,” the Dubai ruler said on Twitter.
“Consistent with our ambitions to empower our people and enhance the strength and sustainability of our economy, the UAE is launching a dedicated plan to boost the employment of UAE nationals in the private sector, which will play a vital role in our nation’s long-term development,” added Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
The second set of projects was unveiled in the presence of UAE ministers and other government officials.
Various programmes
For five years, the UAE will provide a “fixed premium” of 5,000 dirhams per month to its citizens who work as programmers, nurses and accountants in the private sector. The allowance will be paid on top of the employee’s salary.
To ensure financial security during retirement, the government will bear the employee’s pension fund contributions for five years, as well as the bulk of the employer’s contributions, to build the retirement fund.
To encourage further training for its citizens in the private sector, the government will cover the training costs of citizens for up to a full year, with a monthly allowance of 8,000 dirhams for university students.
The government said it will also provide a monthly stipend of up to 5,000 dirhams for undergraduates employed in the private sector. The allowance will be on top of the monthly wage and will be provided for five years after employment.
Those who have children will be entitled to receive up to 800 dirhams as allowance per child, with the maximum amount capped at 3,200 dirhams.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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