As the knock-on effects of COVID-19 continue to play out around the globe, trends that were adopted as a necessity 18 months ago look set to continue long after the world begins to return to some "normality".
In countries that have been largely dependent on foreign talent in strategically important roles, the pandemic has resulted in an unpredicted outcome; for some expats, the shifting economic balance has seen a migration of talent back to their native countries.
In some cases, filling these essential roles has become a topic of national security, with governments competing to attract top talent. For the most talented individuals, governments are providing an array of benefits such as visas with special privileges, in order to attract the world's brightest to their shores.
But in the absence of foreign talent, a practical and sustainable solution is often overlooked - one of cultivating national talent and enabling and empowering employers to fill those strategic roles from within the region.
Like many other countries, the United Arab Emirates - reliant on a predominantly expat private sector workforce - was compelled to accelerate its efforts to look at a long-standing challenge within the region. The challenge of the UAE serves as an example for all countries reliant on talent to transition successfully into the knowledge economy - how to attract, develop and retain national talent.
For years rarefied talent has been coming in their droves to the UAE, where expats make up around 90 percent of the population. And as economic conditions have drastically shifted in the last 12 months, many in this talent pool have left the UAE, leaving organizations scrambling to fill these strategic gaps.
Diversity and inclusion are fast becoming critical issues in companies looking to attract the best talent. Enter Sdara Talent Platform, an innovative solution for national talent acquisition and development, intent on placing top nationals in exciting careers but also helping them gain future skills that will serve them in good stead, making them indispensable in the new knowledge economy.
The issue of sourcing skilled talent isn't exactly new, and it also isn't just contained to the Middle East. A Korn Ferry report published in 2018 suggested that by 2030, more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled because there simply aren't enough skilled workers to fill them. This could result in a whopping $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual revenues.
"The United States is so far failing to equip the next generation with the new skills that are needed to fill large numbers of high-tech roles," explained Werner Penk, President of Global Technology Market for Korn Ferry, in the report. Adding, "As with many economies, the onus falls on companies to train workers, and also to encourage governments to rethink education programs to generate the talent pipelines the industry will require."
The study found that the impact of labour shortage within the financial and business services sector in the UAE could be as much as $12.3 billion by 2030, $3.8 billion in the technology, media and telecommunication sector and $0.3 billion in manufacturing.
In the same report, Jean-Marc Laouchez, President of The Korn Ferry Institute stated that, "Constant learning - driven by both workers and organisations - will be central to the future of work, extending far beyond the traditional definition of learning and development."
While many feel the future of work will see their jobs replaced by AI, the actual data suggests this just isn't the case. In a recent report from MIT on Work of the Future, the authors surmise that "like all previous labor-saving technologies - AI will enable new industries to emerge, creating more new jobs than are lost to the technology."
The issue that remains is the inability to skill workforces to be prepared to take on these new roles.
The need to diversify on a local level is something Talib Hashim has been invested in for some time. The Dubai-based entrepreneur is considered an authority on the topic of Emiratisation and has been helping local jobseekers in the UAE to find suitable placements for over 15 years. Together with Dr. Petar Stojanov, a quantum physicist turned future strategy expert at a global creative and innovation advisory, the idea for Sdara was born.
"Most companies are still trying to solve the talent challenge problem like it's still the 1990s, through placement alone," explains Dr. Stojanov, adding, "The reality is that the challenge is far more complex. With Sdara we wanted to take a more holistic view. Developing talent for the future and creating talent armed with future skills, able to solve the challenges of multinational organisations in the region."
While the majority of Emiratis work in crucial government roles, the effects of the pandemic have shifted the balance of opportunities, meaning there are more prospects available now in the private sector for those with the right skills. For the first time in history, government wages are lower than those in the private sector. But the challenge in filling these available roles goes way beyond a simple job posting.
"We wanted to make sure we were looking at the bigger picture. We have seen huge investments in the past to try and activate national talent in countries in the GCC, with little results. Why is this?" says Hashim.
For Talib Hashim and Dr. Petar Stojanov, the objectives of the Sdara model quickly became apparent as they identified three specific challenges to successful nationalisation programs, including a lack of compelling value proposition to private sector employees; young talent displaying the common characteristics of passive candidates; and the need to integrate and accelerate the national onboarding process, in order to deliver real impact to the business.
Seeing a need in the market for a critical skills pool, their goal became helping companies plan for multiple scenarios of the future, all of which require organisations to embrace changing talent models and ecosystems.
"Our mantra is Attract, Activate, Accelerate. We want to attract potential hires and infuse them with specific knowledge and skills so that they can seamlessly shift from being passive to active employees," explains Hashim.
With a digital platform where talent lies at the focus, Sdara ensures users are supported and guided through each stage of the journey. The platform whose tagline is The Home of Top Talent, is geared towards multinational organisations and government entities.
"For us, Sdara and localisation isn't about expat versus local talent. Instead, it's about helping organisations to integrate more effectively with the local market and invest in the development of talent. By doing this we believe our clients and our talent will be able to reap the long-term benefits of a long-term strategy," notes Dr. Stojanov.
Unlike a typical recruitment agency, Sdara employs a fusion of functions associated with a specialist national talent placement agency, including expert strategic communication and employer branding, whilst also relying on their extensive experience to develop outstanding national talent.
Potential applicants are connected with the most exciting opportunities in their industry, as well as insights and opportunities to help advance career goals. For employers, working with Sdara sees access to a suite of digital solutions that can be tailored to an organisation's specific needs, from offerings including bespoke, turn-key facilitation of national talent engagements, or facilitating industry-specific solutions, Sdara is proving popular with a growing number of employers in the UAE.
And according to the Sdara team, currently eyeing expansion into the US market, the diversity and inclusion challenges being faced in the middle east region are not unique, with US-based Fortune 500 companies noting similar challenges in integrating diverse talent pools within their own workforces.
As the role of national talent becomes increasingly important, it seems that the UAE is paving a path to a scalable, digital solution addressing the regional and global challenge of national talent development in the present, and into the future.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of techtimes.com
