Introduction
The United Arab Emirates is one of the Gulf countries that are rich in natural resources, like oil and gas. UAE is also accredited for having the highest GDP in Asia. UAE’s breakthrough in oil and gas (in the year 1960) changed the economic and socio-economic scenario of the nation. The sudden discovery of oil posed a great challenge for the government because there was not enough local labor force to tackle the huge developments. Consequently, the foreign labor force from developing countries had to be hired. As oil and gas brought revenue, other development works in various other fields also started and more expatriate labor force had to be hired. As years passed by, the expatriate labor force was literally all over the emirate, leaving very little scope for the local labor force. In the year 2009, unemployment (among the local population) in the UAE was at its highest, with reports of 40,000 nationals being without work (Baxter, 2009).
Support Offered by the UAEGovernment and the Private Sector to the Local Labor Force
The UAE follows the guidelines of its strategy of ‘Emiratisation’. The private sector companies in the UAE, which come under the purview of the Ministry of Labor, have stringent guidelines to employ local people up to certain levels. Until January 2011, such companies were required to maintain a specific number of local employees but now, a new resolution of the Labor Ministry is in force, which makes it mandatory for all private companies to hire at least, “3 percent of the top three professional categories in an employer’s workforce” (Kantaria, 2012). This is seen as a major step taken by the UAE government to protect the interests of its citizens.
The UAE government has categorized the private companies into three segments, namely ‘First Class’, Second Class and ‘Third Class’. The criterion for this categorization is the level up to which a company adheres to the guidelines pertaining to the local labor force. As the category of a company decreases, the amount of government fee and the bank guarantee, to be given to the government, increases. Due to this provision, all private companies try to be ‘First Class’. This has also benefitted the local labor force.
Another good thing that the UAE government has done for its local labor force is that they have been protected from undue dismissals from their jobs. Under this provision, the employers have to notify the Ministry 30 days in advance of the termination. If the Ministry decides that the termination is not viable, the company is given 15 days to find a solution to the issue. This again is a positive step in the better interests of the local labor force.
Unemployment Among the UAE Female Graduates
During the years, after its inception, the UAE has witnessed a rapid growth in the higher education sector. According to the ‘Commission for Academic Accreditation’, there are not less than 70 institutions registered with the ‘Ministry of Higher Education and Research’. Among the total graduates in the UAE, 65 percent are females (Mahani & Molki, 2011, p. 26). There has been a progressive increment in the number of women enrolling in public universities. Acquiring knowledge is by far the main intention of women seeking education, but the hidden truth is that they want to get employed by some reputed companies.
The rate at which the Emirati women enter the labor force has increased tremendously due to the fact that many of them have adequate education standards. The discriminatory culture of the Emirati people against women has greatly changed, thus paving the way for many women to enter the job market.
“The jobless rate among nationals in Abu Dhabi last year was 11.6 percent – but for women, it was 41.8 percent, and 3.8 percent for men” (Kannan, 2012). The probable problem for this unemployment is that female graduate doesn’t want to work in banks; they prefer working for government institutions. This is not always possible because there are limited vacancies in government institutions.
Another issue, which is seen as a reason of unemployment among UAE female graduates, is that females from suburban areas want to study in good colleges in the urban areas but when it comes to taking up some job, they prefer their home towns. This again is not always possible because suburban areas have limited jobs. It is an obvious fact that males can travel any distances for jobs (such as in army and police) but women have certain restrictions (Swan & Salem, 2011).
Conclusion
During the years, the issue of unemployment of nationals in the UAE has become very critical. It is feared that if the situation does not improve, it may have a severe impact on the country’s economy. The social and cultural growth in the UAE will also be hampered. And most of all, the security aspect of the country will be at stake.
It is a normal practice of the young to first get employed somewhere and then marry. Similar is the thought among the UAE young generation. But due to being unemployed, they desist from marriage. This is a matter of grave concern because if it continues like this, it might as well have a severe impact on the demographic growth of the UAE.
References
Baxter, E. (2009). UAE unemployment among locals at highest level. Web.
Kannan, P. (2012). Rising unemployment of Emirati women cause for concern, experts warn. Web.
Kantaria, S. (2012). Recent key developments in UAE employment law. Web.
Mahani, S. & Molki, A. (2011). Factors influencing female Emirati students’ decision to study engineering. Global Journal of Engineering Education, 13(1), 26-31. Web.
Swan, O. & Salem, O. (2011). Young women cut off from job market. Web.