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Boosting opportunities for nationals with Business careers


All across the GCC, moves by governments aimed at reducing the high percentage of expats making up their respective workforces have become more evident over recent years. The purpose, of course, is to boost opportunities for nationals.

Oman is a good example with its in-country value (ICV) programme launched last year which encourages firms bidding for energy contracts in the oil and gas sector to buy goods and services and hire locally if possible.

But it's in the higher education sector where impressive strides are being made, particularly in the UAE, to match academia and the requirements of employers in order to maximise opportunity for nationals while at the same time growing the economy. This emphasis has led to an expansion of the education sector over recent years.

Opportunity for the education sector

As in Oman, recruiting nationals to work in the energy sector is a key objective, prompting some companies to hire promising candidates and train them in-house, says the highly respected Oxford Business Group (OBG). While the practice may spell more work for businesses, it represents a potential opportunity for the education sector. The UK-based Heriot-Watt University recently opened the second phase of its $28 million Dubai campus, which will offer several energy-focused courses.

The new Dubai Centre for Islamic Banking and Finance, a joint initiative backed by the government and the Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University, is expected to support the emirate's push to become a leader in Islamic finance, while Dubai International Academic City has been working with the private universities located there to launch their own Islamic finance programmes.

Cost-value proposition

However, all of this activity has prompted warnings about overheating market conditions as competition between institutions pushes up costs which are ultimately borne by students themselves.

It was a point made by Abdurahem Mohammed Al Ameen, the president of Al Ghurair University, who explained to OBG, “Even as the economy softened, the number of higher education institutions continued to increase and created a very competitive environment between schools. The long-term viability of the private higher education sector relies not only on the quality of the education but also on the cost-value proposition.”

As a result, the annual price tag for students has risen to an average of $9,528, which universities attribute to higher costs, particularly a rise in rents at premises located in the TECOM-owned free zones. A member of Dubai Holding, TECOM Investments owns several of the emirate's business parks, including Dubai Knowledge Village and Dubai International Academic City.

Building blocks

However, the government argues that since university is not mandatory, tertiary education costs, like those of private schools, are dictated by the market. The government has supplied the building blocks for the private sector to play an active part in the education sector by providing a straightforward regulatory environment. Both private schools and higher education institutions should benefit from increased demand for their services in the coming years. Read more from the OBG here.