Home-grown talent encouraged to join teaching staff as schools close in on Emiratisation targets
Schools in the UAE are working towards Emiratisation targets, but a lack of qualified Emirati teachers remains a challenge.
Citizens are mostly hired in administrative and non-teaching roles as schools attempt to hit their Emiratisation targets, recruiters told The National.
There is a different story in Arabic studies, especially in Sharjah, where many Emiratis have been hired in teaching roles.
The Sharjah Private Education Authority said 85 Emirati teachers, now part of the private education sector, have been trained since 2019, mostly teaching Arabic, Islamic studies and social studies.
The authority said the goal is to train Emiratis in teaching and supporting undergraduate and graduate students to take up education as a profession.
A record 92,000 Emiratis now work in the private sector, according to figures released in January, as private companies with 50 employees or more must ensure that 6 per cent of their workforce is Emirati by the end of this year.
Kirti Badlani, group human resources manager at Ambassador Education, which operates three schools in the UAE,
said Emiratisation was a challenge at first but now the organisation is on track.
“It was a bit challenging initially when it had picked up, but I think we have been able to do pretty well,” Ms Badlani told The National.
“Predominantly, most of our Emirati colleagues are in the administration department because, when we started, we were looking more at the administration roles.”
She said there is a need to consider the criteria set by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority – Dubai’s private education regulator – and Ambassador is more optimistic about hiring Emirati candidates in Arabic or IT teaching roles.
“We have two Emirati teachers and are looking for Emiratis to teach Arabic,” Ms Badlani said.
“We are considering new graduates. We are looking at hiring a couple in the upcoming months to teach Arabic.
“We are using Nafis for recruiting Emiratis but we wouldn’t hesitate to go to the university and select newly graduated teachers.”
Nafis is a federal government programme that provides a monthly salary support of a maximum of Dh7,000 ($1,906) to Emiratis who earn up to Dh30,000 a month. It also covers child allowance and pension contributions.
From January 1 last year, private companies with more than 50 employees had to ensure that 2 per cent of staff members were Emirati.
This figure rose to 4 per cent by the end of 2023, will rise to 6 per cent this year and 8 per cent in 2025, with the goal of 10 per cent by the end of 2026.
“I think there is a much stronger focus on Emiratisation than there ever has been,” said John Mayes, chief people officer at Gems Education. “We have a strong alignment to that agenda.
“The regulations are set by the respective authorities and there are minimum standards, the minimum qualifications to teach in the UAE.
“Graduates need to meet those standards if they are in teaching roles.
“We continue to look at graduates for teaching roles where they meet the criteria. We also look for graduates across the organisation for non-teaching roles, where we have less requirements to meet.”
The school group hires
Emiratis through open days, the Nafis platform and by building up partnerships with universities.
Sharifa Ali Sulaiman, 25, an Emirati, acquired a diploma in special needs and is now works as a learning support assistant at Ambassador International Academy in Dubai.
She said she chose to work in education because she wanted to work with children.
She also said she is keen to encourage other Emiratis to take up the profession.
“I tell others this is something so good for you and for all the community.”