Carrefour starts retail jobs scheme for Emiratis
Carrefour has launched a retail training programme for Emiratis.
Masarat, a part of Majid Al Futtaim Retail’s Emiratisation efforts in partnership with the government’s Nafis initiative, will train citizens for front line, team leadership, department head and store manager roles.
The company said it had recruited more than 1,000 Emiratis since 2021 and is on target to achieve its goal of 3,000 by 2026.
Emiratis make up more than 6 per cent of its total domestic workforce, the retailer said.
Training in the programme at Carrefour’s Retail Business School will be in five stages, beginning with front line roles and moving to district management level.
Participants will be rewarded with financial incentives and career opportunities.
“Masarat will offer a route to success for thousands of talented Emiratis, including development, training and upskilling opportunities,” said Bernardo Perloiro, chief operating officer GCC at Majid Al Futtaim Retail. “In partnership with Nafis, our
Masarat Programme is an exciting and supportive stepping stone from which 3,000 new national colleagues will be able to launch and pursue careers within retail by 2026.”
Launched in September 2021, Nafis, which means “compete” in Arabic, was set up to ensure Emiratisation targets were met in the private sector.
Under the programme, Emiratis working in the sector are entitled to salary top-ups, as they would typically earn more in the public sector.
Figures released in January showed that 28,700 Emiratis had taken jobs at private companies since the launch of the Nafis programme 12 months earlier.
Last month, the UAE introduced the Industrialist Programme designed to increase Emiratisation in the industrial sector.
The programme aims to empower talent, develop skills and provide job opportunities for UAE citizens as part of the National In-Country Value programme.
Private sector companies with at least 50 employees must ensure at least 3 per cent of their workforce is made up of Emiratis by July 1.