The Healthcare Programme, an initiative by the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (Nafis), has begun registering UAE nationals who hold high school degree as a minimum requirement. The initiative aims to attract 2,000 nationals to the healthcare sector in 2022, while continuing the process until reaching the set target of attracting 10,000 nationals to the sector by 2026.

The programme will provide beneficiaries with full scholarships and monthly financial rewards as part of the efforts to create job opportunities for UAE national talents in priority sectors, most notably healthcare.

His Excellency Saif Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary for Emiratisation at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) said: “Under the guidance of the wise leadership, MoHRE is making parallel efforts to achieve the goals of creating job opportunities for Emirati cadres. This is being done in collaboration with Nafis, by developing the business environment and enhancing its competitiveness and attractiveness for UAE talents through a series of relevant laws, decisions and regulations on one hand, and enhancing the capabilities of national talents and enabling them to seize the opportunities available in the private sector on the other hand.”

His Excellency Al Suwaidi highlighted the significance of the initiative as it “provides unique opportunities for Emirati cadres, keeping up with the exceptional growth that the healthcare sector is expected to witness, locally and globally.”

“Investing in this sector is a strategic priority to maintain the UAE’s future-proof vision to be the global capital of healthcare services and medical tourism,” he added.

For his part, His Excellency Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary-General of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, said: “Within the framework of the directives of the wise leadership for the next 50 years, the UAE has identified various strategic or future economy-related sectors, which will considerably boost the country’s economic and social security. Being a key service sector and a vital source of quality job opportunities, the healthcare sector is at the forefront.”

His Excellency Al Mazrouei added: “The Healthcare Programme is one of the many initiatives as part of Nafis to enhance the competitiveness of Emirati cadres enabling them to fill 75,000 jobs in the country’s private sector institutions in the next five years. This is done through an integrated system that covers the whole employment journey for job seekers by supporting the salaries of UAE nationals and providing allowances to the children of private sector employees, temporary support, vocational counselling and others, to achieve the strategic goals of making a qualitative leap in national development.”

He explained: “The programme will offer qualification and support for citizens to work in the healthcare sector with 100% scholarships and financial rewards. Academically, the programme will cooperate with a selection of higher education institutions in the country, including Fatima College of Health Sciences, Higher Colleges of Technology and Fujairah University, building an ideal model for partnership between the government, private and academic sectors.

“It is the kind of partnership on which the country’s development model is based, and through which the private sector will benefit by hiring the national cadres needed for business development, in addition to incentive packages offered by the Ministry to private sector entities that achieve Emiratisation goals.”

Emiratis wishing to join the Healthcare Programme can register via Nafis’ website or the concerned universities or colleges’ websites, which can be found on the Ministry’s bio on Instagram (https://linktr.ee/mohre) as well as its pages on other social media platforms.

The Nafis programme includes 11 initiatives – Emirati salary support scheme, merit programme, child allowance scheme, unemployment benefits, pension programme, job offers, vocational counselling programme, healthcare programme, recruitment targets, apprentice programme, and talent programme.