Saqr bin Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, announced a series of policies under a comprehensive national training programme for registered citizens seeking private sector employment.

The programme, under the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, will aim to achieve the government’s strategic goals under a wider national agenda.

"The Emiratisation programme has received plenty of attention from the leadership. As part of the national agenda under Vision 2021, the Ministry of Emiratisation and other specialist authorities were asked to provide training and employment opportunities for citizens to strengthen their competitiveness in finding employment in the private sector. This followed the directive of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which required the ministry to take responsibility for Emiratisation," the minister said.

The statement was made at a meeting between the minister and the media at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

The minister highlighted the support of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation and Chairman of the Board of Education and the Human Resources Council, for Emiratisation and acknowledged the efforts made by other members of the Council to support the work of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in increasing local employment and stabilising the job market.

After receiving direction from the leadership, the ministry conducted studies on the current job market using data held in its database. It aims to identify all job seekers, regardless of their current employment status, he added.

"The seriousness of the job seeker is crucial for receiving the most benefits from the Emiratisation programme. We created a set of standards to evaluate this level of seriousness, from registration to updating their data at the ministry. We also take into account their commitment to attending training sessions, guidance councils and interviews," he added.

The implementation of Article 14 of the Labour Relations Organisational Law, which gives priority to citizens for available private sector vacancies, is part of a mechanism that has been put in place to guarantee the proper application of the programme, he said.