Slowdown isn't slowing Emiratisation
Given the fact that recruitment has slowed significantly within the UAE banking sector, you might have thought Emiratisation would be taking a back seat. Surprisingly, a lot of firms are still increasing their proportion of locals, but the job-hopping of previous years has come to a halt.
Dubai Bank is aiming for 30% Emiratisation, for instance, Abu Dhabi Investment Company has started a hiring spree of Emirati graduates for a scheme designed to fast-track them to management positions and Abu-Dhabi Islamic Bank has taken on 150 locals this year.
And it's not just the local banks that are aiming to increase their intake of UAE nationals. HSBC's Middle East CEO Youssef Nasr says: "Our goal is to achieve above and beyond the government's Emiratisation targets."
Still, it would be slightly naïve to suggest that the push towards localisation is entirely unaffected by the economic downturn.
The Emirates Nationals Development Programme (ENDP) says many financial firms in the UAE are simply not expanding this year and those that are often recruit expats.
"It is not logical that the private sector can accommodate thousands of the expatriate workforce and is not able to provide jobs for UAE Emiratis," said Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, chairman of ENDP.
Paula McManus, head of learning and development at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, says that the firm is going to "substantially increase" the number of UAE nationals in 2009, including 100 management trainees.
Due the limited amount of Emirati banking talent, those that worked in the sector were often able to move between jobs for vastly inflated salaries.
"The real competition is at the mid- to senior management level," says McManus. "That market is still quite healthy in terms of people moving. The more inexperienced level is much more stable than it was 12 months ago."
Richard Lett, head of banking at recruiters RP International, says: "Firms are being offered an embarrassment of riches in terms of international banking talent. While, they obviously need to fulfil government quotas of UAE nationals, it's no longer top of the agenda."
