Engineering sector beckons

More UAE nationals need to be encouraged into engineering and technology careers, as there are not enough qualified locals to fill the jobs available, say some of the region’s employers.

Emerson India, Middle East and Africa Human Resources corporate vice-president William Kofahl said the biggest challenge for the global manufacturing and technology company was finding entry-level engineers and technicians in the region.

Emerson, which has about 130,000 employees worldwide across a range of areas including process automation, plant optimisation, telecommunications infrastructure and climate control, has more than 1,000 employees in the Middle East, with the majority based in Dubai.

About 20 per cent of Middle East employees were Arab, he said.

“(But) we often struggle to find local candidates who are interested in entry-level technical or engineering positions. At the opposite end of the scale, we sometimes struggle to find extremely specialised or very experienced technologists.

“The easiest positions to fill with local nationals traditionally are those that deal with government affairs or government relations.”

Many nationals did not have the right background or experience for such a specialised industry, and often the company had to rely on non-national talent, or employees from other Emerson branches across the world, to support local projects given the huge growth in this region, he said.

“Given the option, we would always like to hire locals because they know the market and speak the language. If we can’t do that, we look to the wider region, and then outside that. Our challenge is we are not finding enough locals to fill the roles directly.”

According to a Government of Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority report, ‘The Higher Education Landscape in Dubai 2012’, published earlier this year, only about nine per cent of students in Dubai in 2012 were studying engineering, one of the key industries required for a knowledge-based economy.

36% Emiritisation by 2014

Enoc Group HR senior manager Rashid Ahmed Abdullah said filling engineering and technical roles, particularly with local nationals, was a challenge. “It’s a common issue all the companies are facing ... it’s a shared pain (across the industry).”

More than half of the national oil company’s current 300-plus vacancies were for these types of roles, he said.

The company has more than 6,000 employees, of which about one-third are nationals, up from 22 per cent in 2010.

Its Emiritasation target for 2014 is 36 per cent.  One of the major issues was the limited supply of nationals in these specialisations, and competition for these limited resources was fierce, especially in Abu Dhabi, he said.

“We require certain degrees, competencies and experience, particularly in mechanical and electronics engineering and the field of mechatronics. There are very few (qualified nationals in this area) in the market.”

However, more women engineers are starting to come through, which was positive, he said.

“We are seeing a large number of female engineers graduating every year, and we are trying to absorb that … there is a positive trend (flowing on) in terms of the number of applications coming through from females, but that can still be enhanced.”

Emerson, which has 235 manufacturing locations worldwide, is working with local universities such as Khalifa University of Science Technology & Research, the BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus, and the Adnoc Technical Institute to help develop curricula to meet the company’s needs, also donating equipment and software if required.

Career paths were important to locals, and Kofahl did not think the perception that some Emiratis were not motivated, or just salary-focused, was true — many were just not used to the private sector, he said. The company has not yet set an Emiratisation target. Director of Training Services at the Etisalat Academy, Dr Mohammed Al Marzooqi, said many Emiratis were going into areas like IT, when there were many engineering positions available.

However, the shortage of engineers was not limited only to UAE nationals, he said.

The easy way out

Al Marzooqi said many school leavers often chose an ‘easier’ path.

“And that’s the same for Emiratis. They know their job is guaranteed ... some think like that.”

He agreed more awareness was required at the school-level to promote the opportunities in the industry, both technical and managerial or leadership-based. Many students did not understand what the different streams of engineering, such as computer or chemical, actually offered, he said.

Engineering qualifications in demand in the UAE currently were aerospace, telecommunications, computer and electronics, biomedical and nuclear engineering, he said. Khalifa Universtity and the Abu Dhabi government were making considerable investments in students, to educate them both in the UAE and at universities in other countries such as the United States and South Korea. This included paying the fees for non-national students and then requiring them to work in the UAE after they finished studying, he added.

“They’re putting lots of budget into the education side, and also for nuclear engineers as they will require a certain number to be ready before the nuclear plant is opened in 2017.”

British University of Dubai vice-chancellor Professor Abdullah Alshamsi said engineering and technology were key areas of development required for a sustainable, and knowledge-based, economy.

Role of schools, colleges

“Providing the right skills to match this industry is very crucial. Most of the UAE universities do offer a wide range of courses in engineering and IT, however to attract the youth to these courses, the schools and career counsellors can play a vital role in educating them on the significance of this sector, and the promising career this industry holds.”

It was also up to universities to create an atmosphere that provided excitement, creativity, adventure and more hands-on experience for students to drive them to these courses, he said.

sarah@khaleejtimes.com

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