According to a new scheme introduced by the UAE government, a person working in the UAE can take a year off if they are planning to set up a business. The Entrepreneurship Leave for Self Employment scheme would be starting on the 2nd of January next year and it will be made available for the UAE national employees of the federal government.
This is a first-of-its-kind scheme and is part of the “Projects of the 50” initiative announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime minister, and Ruler of Dubai.
Emiratis have been offered the opportunity to start their own businesses since July of this year
It will be directed at the development of UAE nationals who want to start their own company. The scheme will be a motivational factor and empower them to have a career of their own by setting up a company or entrepreneurship.
These efforts would also help the UAE economy to thrive faster in the post-Covid-19 world as the government-funded initiatives will start a positive chain reaction for restructuring the economy of the UAE via investment in technology and human resources.
Under the scheme, an Emirati individual who is working under any federal government institutions can apply for a year’s leave in order to set up their own economic project. If the project is approved, then the individual will be paid half of their salary when they are on leave. The Projects of the 50 is basically a collection of various economic and development-based projects to create a dynamic development model for the UAE in multiple sectors.
It will kick start a new chapter in the diversifying UAE economy through diligent models of progress and comprehensive scenarios that reflect in the global economy. Projects of the 50’s first stage draw up a complete developmental blueprint by initiating multiple projects under different economic sectors. The renewed visa programs, foreign investment schemes, national policies for giving assistance to Emirati companies, etc. are some of the measures taken in the first phase of the project.
It also lays down a master plan to establish the UAE as a global hub where new innovations and technologies are created and executed with maximum efficiency. A comprehensive global economic partnership agreement has been made with eight major global markets that will boost the trade volume by an annual AED 40 billion.
On a larger scale, this will also help increase the size of the national economy by almost double from the current AED 1.4 trillion to AED 3 trillion over the period of the next ten years.
The initiation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is also part of this first phase where the UAE would foster and adopt new technologies in the national industrial sector. It aims to nurture around five hundred national companies in the coming years that are equipped with the most advanced technologies and an innovative workforce that will adhere to the needs of a future global skill set.
The second set of the Projects of the 50 deals with the improvement of Emirati individuals’ living standards by providing beneficial initiatives. These new programs are implemented under a large and comprehensive federal scheme called NAFIS, which means ‘compete’ in Arabic.
The NAFIS scheme is supposed to be a series of initiatives with long term and short-term goals that are intended to improve the skill set and opportunities of the UAE nationals working in the private and federal sectors. The NAFIS scheme is directed at Emiratis of different age groups who are at the start of their career to individuals who are planning to take retirement.
It will mold the UAE national as a global citizen who can compete and create new innovations in the international community, at the same time, contributing the enhanced talent in the development of the UAE too.
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The subsidized career break scheme is part of this second set of the “Projects of the 50” and it will be a source of support for an Emirati looking to create a new business plan and contribute to the larger investment structure of the UAE economy. Apart from this, there are other schemes like the pension scheme, merit program, salary support scheme, child allowance scheme, apprentice program, healthcare development program, unemployment benefits program, etc.
that are introduced to improve the all-around living standard of the average Emirati. The UAE administration is planning to spend around AED 24 billion to employ around seventy-five thousand Emiratis in the private sector over the span of five years starting from 2021 to 2025.
Vocational skill training will also be provided to deserving citizens and this would also enable them to get into professions that are relevant to the changing economy. As UAE is planning to strengthen its non-oil economy, all these schemes would be of utmost importance in order to sustain a domestic workforce that can contribute on a larger scale to the betterment of the society and economy of the UAE.