His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, attended a session titled “Our Ambition… Competing with the World’s Nations,” on the sidelines of the UAE Government Annual Meetings 2024, held in the capital, Abu Dhabi, with the presence of over 500 state leaders and officials from federal and local entities.
The session, presented by His Excellency Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary General of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, covered several key topics, most notably the continuous efforts made by the UAE and its wise leadership to enhance the competitiveness of national talents and competencies. This is achieved through the launch of innovative initiatives and the adoption of strategic plans to support and qualify the Emirati workforce, enabling them to compete in both local and global labor markets.
The session highlighted the UAE’s efforts in launching national training programs to develop the skills of Emirati talents and meet the growing demands of the labor market. It also focused on encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship by empowering Emirati entrepreneurs to compete in local and global markets. Additionally, the importance of strengthening public-private partnerships to create sustainable job opportunities for Emirati talents was emphasized. The session also discussed the role of adopting a knowledge-based economy approach in enhancing the capabilities of national talents and boosting their competitiveness locally and globally.
Ghannam Al Mazrouei explained during the session that the “Nafes” program, launched by the UAE to increase the percentage of national competencies in the private sector, has contributed to providing thousands of job opportunities for Emirati youth since its launch in September 2021. He highlighted that this program reflects the leadership’s commitment to enabling young Emiratis to access suitable job opportunities in competitive positions, providing them with the necessary experiences and knowledge, and fulfilling their future aspirations across various professional and knowledge fields.
His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan emphasized the importance of continuing to expand the scope of national programs and initiatives that contribute to qualifying national talents for competition in local and global labor markets. This aligns with the UAE’s ambitious vision and the leadership’s directions in supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, and a knowledge-based economy, enabling national talents to effectively contribute to advancing sustainable development across various key sectors.
His Highness commended the achievements of the “Nafis” program at the national level in raising the employment rate of national talents in the private sector to record levels. He noted the importance of building on these positive results to achieve further successes in increasing Emiratisation rates across various sectors in the future.