Emiratization in Emirates ID is 99 per cent

H.E. Dr. Eng. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Emirates ID Director General, affirmed that the Emiratization philosophy adopted by the Emirates Identity Authority helped it secure the highest Emiratization percentage in the UAE together with Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme, adding that Emiratization in the Emirates Identity Authority stood at 99 per cent of its cadres which included around 700 employees.

Al Khouri pointed out that the Emirates Identity Authority was able to make a quantum leap in reducing job rotation over the past three years from 12 per cent in 2009 to 2 per cent in 2011 and in achieving a job satisfaction rate of 70.10 per cent.

In an interview published in the first edition of Kawader Magazine, Al Khouri noted that the Higher Management at the Emirates Identity Authority dealt with Emiratization and empowerment of UAE nationals as part of its doctrine in line with the vision of the UAE prudent leadership under President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may Allah protect him, which considers a UAE national as the top national priority.

Strategic Mode of Thinking

Thanks to the strategic mode of thinking and the prudent directives of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Emirates Identity Authority, the Emirates Identity Authority was able to deal with this national duty as one of its top priority within the framework of its endeavor to fulfill its mission by virtue of the efficiency of its national cadres.

Al Khouri commended the pivotal role of His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Deputy Chairman of the Emirates Identity Authority, in establishing an integrated system for the Emiratization process at the Emirates Identity Authority through its diligent follow-up that had a great effect on drawing a clear roadmap for the Higher Management at the Emirates Identity Authority for dealing with this sensitive file in a farsighted and realistic manner.

Gratitude

Al Khouri added that the Emirates Identity Authority had firmly established in the minds of its employees what the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may Allah have mercy upon him, once said: “A top duty of a UAE national is to work day and night to improve his career and consequently contribute to the glory of his nation. He should be more ambitious than earning a university degree, taking up a job and then sitting idly and doing nothing.”

Al Khouri affirmed that the Emirates Identity Authority’s family is keen on exerting strenuous efforts for the welfare of the UAE and UAE nationals and fulfilling its sublime mission for which it was established as embodied in enhancing the national and individual security in the UAE, keeping a precise population register and providing innovated electronic services as a gesture of gratitude to this generous country.

According to Al Khouri, the Emirates Identity Authority recruited in one year more than 300 nationals for work in its different departments and sections. This came as part of the Emirates Identity Authority’s integrated plan aimed at raising Emiratization rates in line with the supreme directives stated in the Emirates Identity Authority’s new strategy 2010-2013.

The Emirates Identity Authority also employed more than 350 nationals on temporary contracts through outsourcing companies but is working on tenuring a number of them as per a specific timeline and an elaborate plan. The Emirates Identity Authority will also create a number of vacancies to tenure more of these employees.

Emiratizing Partners

In his interview with Kawader, the first UAE monthly publication specializing in national cadre cases and Emiratization in all sectors and member of Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Al Khouri believed that the most outstanding achievement that the Emirates Identity Authority is proud of lies in the fact that its efforts in this project went beyond the limits of its corporate framework to attempting to Emiratize partners, i.e. agreeing with the Emirates Identity Authority’s strategic partners before signing long-term contracts to employ UAE nationals for managing projects related to the Emirates Identity Authority and subsequently appointing these employees in the Emirates Identity Authority after a certain period.

Al Khouri referred to the Emirates Identity Authority’s agreement, for instance, with EIMASfor electronic management and security solutions to employ around 600 UAE nationals by the time the project of linkage with preventive medicine across the UAE is completed. He also referred to the Emirates Identity Authority’s agreement with Emaratech, the IT and electronic solutions company, to appoint 150 UAE nationals in the verification office.

Future Leaders

Al Khouri pointed out that as far as Emiratization is concerned, the priority of the Emirates Identity Authority focused on training its national cadres to become future leaders and excellence ambassadors wherever they go. This goal is achieved  through a number of leadership strategies laid down by the Emirates Identity Authority to encourage its employees to innovate and contribute to the empowerment process based on delegation of authority by providing continuous training and education and ensuring improved balance based on the annual assessment, he added, noting that Emiratization is balanced in the Emirates Identity Authority from the quantitative and qualitative viewpoints.

According to Al Khouri, the major Emiratization challenges faced by the Emirates Identity Authority are embodied in the unavailability of qualified national employees to fill specialized advisory jobs and a number of technical communication and information system jobs and in the difficulty of keeping qualifiednational staff.

Al Khouri commended the vision of Kawader as a magazine focusing on Emiratization due to the extreme importance of the Emiratization project at the national level. He believed that Kawader was successful in selecting its name, adding that its pages are expected to form a space for documenting the achievements and innovations of the UAE young men and women who are aspiring for the glory, progress and prosperity of their country.

Al Khouri also praised the efforts of Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development for supporting the Kawader Magazine and other youth enterprises that bring benefit to their entrepreneurs and contribute to providing new job opportunities to UAE nationals, adding that most of these enterprises proved successful.