Young Emiratis Must Become Entrepreneurs

According to a report in Khaleejtimes, the UAE needs its young nationals to become entrepreneurs if the country is to really thrive, the World Economic Forum’s chief economist, Jennifer Blanke, says. She also said that the country needed to change the prevailing perception that public sector jobs were best.

A recent survey showed 9 out of 10 Emiratis would prefer to work for government.

“It’s a combination of the fact that there are very nice, comfortable jobs in government but then there’s also this mindset that’s what people want to do.”

“You want to have enough homegrown talent and a culture of innovation…I absolutely would not say you never need to bring in talent and good ideas from elsewhere…you want to have a balance and it’s for (the UAE government) to decide what the balance is. But certainly there seems to be a sense that more efforts could be taken and they should be trying to encourage young nationals to work in (entrepreneurial) jobs.”

Such encouragement could come in the form of internships, apprenticeships, business training and start-up subsidies, but also needed to include positive reinforcement from the country’s leaders about the vitality of innovation and business.”

About the author

Kazim Ladimeji is the Director of thecareercafe.co.uk—a resource for start-ups, small business and job seekers. It includes a blog with career and small business advice articles. Kazim is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and has been a practising HR professional for 14 years.

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