Emiratis want training, not cash, to stay in banking

The financial sector in the UAE is turning to better training  to attract and retain nationals, rather than simply throwing money at the problem.

Banking has been one of the more popular areas for UAE nationals outside the public sector because of its high pay and rapid promotion. But finance firms have struggled to meet quotas of employing between 40% and 45% Emiratis, and most firms have offered huge salary rises to locals to stop them jumping to a competitor.  However, most UAE nationals have risen no further than branch managers with better jobs going to expats. At Mashreq, for example, 100% of branch managers are Emiratis.

“The banking sector isn’t as appealing to Emiratis – job numbers have shrunk, pay rises  are less common and the negative perception has turned many off from the industry,” says AbdulMuttalib Al Hashimi, managing director of Emiratisation consultancy Next Level. “Emiratis don’t want to be part of a quota, they want to be given a sense of empowerment.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister and vice president of the UAE, has billed 2013 as the year when hiring of locals takes off. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi has said it intends to hire 100 Emiratis this year.

However, the buzz word currently is ‘Emiratisation 2.0.’ This means that firms are looking to the long-term when it comes to hiring UAE nationals into the banking sector.  Banks are no longer boasting about recruiting hundreds of Emirati graduates, or exceeding quotas, now it’s all about equipping locals with the right skills.

“Successful Emiratisation is not about hiring staff, or just filling a role,” said Hamda Al Shamali, manager of Emiratisation and local talent at HSBC. “It’s about finding the right fit for the new employees and providing them with the tools they need to build their careers within an organisation.”

HSBC trains its graduates for 24 months, putting them through professional qualifications and ensuring new recruits get exposure to business areas like wealth management or risk. Deutsche Bank is targeting local universities this year for its global transaction services division, First Gulf Bank gives new Emirati recruits exposure to treasury front office and corporate banking, The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority puts its trainees through the CFA, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has been highlighting its new management training programme for Emiratis.

There are, however, still a lack of local candidates working for the large investment banks, something Al Hashimi says is down to the lack of role models for Emiratis as much as the lack of opportunities. Increasingly, though, global banks are the employer of choice.

“Emirati job-seekers are more realistic about salary expectations and are instead focusing on carving out a career for themselves, and invariably the options available are better at global firms,” he said. “Emiratis want the skills to be a globally attractive candidate as much as anyone else.”