Dhs11.5 billion housing plan to help 13,000 Emirati families
Minister stresses that the new resolutions will increase the participation of Emirati talents in the private sector by creating over 12,000 jobs annually, with an annual increase of 10% for the 5 coming years
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced on Monday the adoption of an unemployment insurance system, aimed at compensating the insured worker with a cash amount for a limited period in the event of job loss.
The Cabinet meeting, which was held at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, approved a number of initiatives and legislations aiming at further developing UAE government work. The Cabinet adopted a new policy for housing loans, an unemployment insurance system and increasing the participation of Emiratis in the private sector.
Sheikh Mohammed said, “Today, I chaired a Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi. We approved a new housing policy within the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme, and a housing loan financing programme worth Dhs11.5 billion, benefiting 13,000 Emirati families.”
He added, “We also approved a new system to enhance the participation of our national talents in private sector. We have set a minimum Emiratisation percentage of 2 per cent annually from High-skilled jobs in establishments having more than 50 employees. Our goal is to raise this percentage to 10 per cent in 2026 in cooperation with Nafis programme.”
He said, “We approved a new unemployment insurance system which constitutes of compensating the insured employee in the UAE with a cash amount for a limited period. The goal is to enhance the competitiveness of the labor market and establish a stable work environment for everyone.”
Sheikh Mohammed noted, “Today, we adopted a new governance system to ensure best practices in the government higher education institutions and our national universities.. While seting clear performance indicators for their work, to enhance their financial efficiency and support them in achieving their educational goals.”
He added, “We approved in the Cabinet meeting today, a decision allowing the publication of the names of violators of our capital market regulations and the regulations of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), and publishing the facts of these violations... The goal is to raise investment awareness, protect our financial markets, deter violators and protect all investors.”
The UAE Cabinet approved a federal law on the unemployment insurance system, through insurance packages. The law constitutes of compensating the insured employee in the UAE with a cash amount for a limited period until finding an alternative job, and enhancing the competitiveness of Emiratis in the labor market, as well as atracting the best international talent to the UAE labor market.
The Cabinet approved a decision regarding the governance of the federal higher education institutions in the country, which aims to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework and build a flexible and advanced legislative environment for these institutions. The decision will support the federal higher education institutions in enhancing their competitiveness and ensuring effective governance, in line with the national strategy for higher education 2030.
Also, the meeting approved a policy of publishing violations related to the provisions of the Securities and Commodities Authority law and regulations, and granting the Authority the power to publish facts commited in violation of the Authority’s law and regulations issued by it within its websites. The publication of violations can include the names of violators and the content of those violations, in accordance with specific controls and mechanisms for grievance.
The Cabinet approved the issuance of a federal decree to establish a permanent delegation of the UAE to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in the United Kingdom. In addition to approving the reformation of the Board of Directors of the General Civil Aviation Authority for a period of three years, headed by Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy.
The Cabinet also approved a decision to restructure the Board of Directors of Al Etihad Credit Bureau for a period of three years, headed by Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs.
Unemployment insurance system for workers approved; we have set a minimum Emiratisation percentage of two per cent annually, says Sheikh Mohammed.
The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has adopted resolutions and incentives package to enhance the participation of Emirati talents in the private sector.
The resolutions come within NAFIS, the federal programme that aims to increase the competitiveness of the Emirati workforce and to facilitate the private sector employment of UAE citizens.
Theincentivesincludereducingtheservicefeesof the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation by 80 per cent for private sector establishments, which accomplish major achievements in terms of recruitment and training of Emirati citizens.
The Cabinet approved increasing the Emiratisation rate to 2 per cent annually from high-skilled jobs in establishments that employ 50 workers or more. The step aims at creating more than 12,000
job opportunities annually for citizens in all economic sectors.
Non-compliant companies will have to pay an amount of Dhs6,000 monthly, starting from
January 2023, for every citizen who has not been employed. Dr Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said that the benefits offered by NAFIS support Emirati talents in the private sector.
Al Awar added that reducing 80 per cent of the service fees of the ministry for establishments that accomplish substantial achievements in terms of recruitment and training of Emirati citizens will further contribute to achieve NAFIS objectives.
Al Awar stressed that the new resolutions will increase the participation of Emirati talents in the private sector by creating more than 12,000 jobs annually, with an annual increase of 10 per cent for the 5 coming years.
Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary-general of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, said that NAFIS ensures the efficiency of the Emiratisation approach, while offering significant incentives to private sector establishments that achieve substantial milestones in terms of recruitment and training of Emirati citizens.
Al Mazrouei expected that private sector establishments will commit to the new resolutions and will increase Emiratisation by 2 per cent for high-skilled jobs until achieving the 10 per cent target by the 2026, stressing that private sector establishments will benefit from NAFIS.
NAFIS offers various benefits including the Emirati Salary Support Scheme where UAE citizens will be offered a one-year salary support of up to Dhs8,000 per month during training and a monthly support of up to Dhs5,000 will be paid for up to five years for university graduates.
Theprogrammeprovidesuaecitizensspecialised in fields such as coders, nurses and accountants with a top-up on their existing salaries.
Theprogrammealsooffersasubsidisedfive-year government-paid contribution on the company’s behalf against the cost of pension plans for Emirati staff and full support for the Emirati’s contribution across the first five years of their employment.
NAFIS also offers Private Sector Child Allowance Scheme. The scheme is a monthly grant made to Emirati staff working in the private sector of up to Dhs800 per child up to a maximum of Dhs3,200 per month.
Data discussed in the meeting revealed that the total number of new Emiratis who joined the private sector since the launch of NAFIS in September 2021 till March 2022 amounted to 5,558, while the number of companies that hired new employees increased to 1,774.
The NAFIS data indicate that the number of citizens registered on the plaform and eligible to benefit from the NAFIS initiatives reached 25,876, and that the number of job opportunities on the plaform reached 2,524, while the number of beneficiaries increased to 4,074 people.
To fulfil its goals of boosting the competitiveness and efficiency of UAE citizens, NAFIS developed two bundles of initiatives as part of the “Projects of the 50,” The first was released in September 2021, followed by the second in March 2022.
The first bundle included the “Emirati Salary Support Scheme,” the “Merit Programme,” the “Pension Programme,” the “Child Allowance Scheme,” the “Unemployment Benefit,” and the “Job Offers Programme.”
The second bundle of initiatives was launched in March 2022 and focuses on training programmes.