During a recent ceremony at the Ministry's Diwan in Dubai in the presence of HE Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli, the Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation along with senior officials of both sides, the MoU was signed by Fatima Al Houti, Undersecretary of Human Resources Development at MoHRE, and Ahmad bin Byat, General Manager of HTMi.
On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, HE Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli met with officials and managers of a group of hotels operating in the UAE. They discussed ways of employing both male and female local talents in the tourism sector, especially in the light of the MoU that will develop and upscale skills of local talents to work in this strategic and important sector.
The MoU comes as part of the Ministry’s commitment to enabling Emirati men and women, and provide them with the necessary expertise that are required in today’s job market, according to Fatima Al Houti.
She added that hospitality and tourism have been identified as one of the key targeted strategic sectors for the second phase of qualitative Emiratization accelerator program, which is currently implemented by the Ministry in cooperation with its strategic partners.
Al Houti explained that tourism and hospitality are considered by the Ministry as strategic economic sectors, given that they offer Emirati talents promising employment opportunities that meet their aspirations for the future.
She added that the MoU provides support to the Emirates Nationals Development Program, which empowers young Emirati talents in their quest to work in the hospitality and tourism sector, by conducting workshops and training courses, in addition to practical and on-the-field training programs.
Al Houti indicated that the MoU will have a great impact in enabling Emirati human resource to attain employment, and promotes freelance work. It also encourages information exchange, and use of relevant networks.
She explained that a special task force will be formed to provide technical support for the launch and execution agreed upon training programs. The team will also be in charge of organizing marketing and awareness campaigns to attract Emiratis and encourage them to join training and qualification programs within the hospitality and tourism fields.
Ahmad bin Byat said: "We are delighted to establish a strategic partnership between the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and the Swiss Hotel and Tourism Management Institute in Dubai. This partnership will support the UAE development plans and enhance its position in the luxury hospitality sector at the regional and international levels."
"The Hospitality sector is a key sector in the recruitment process, with expectations that the sector value in the UAE will reach US$7.6 billion by 2022, in light of the plan to bring in 25 million visitors annually by 2025", he added.
Bin Byat concluded: "The Swiss Hotel and Tourism Management Institute in Dubai aims at providing a high-quality education and employment platform that will empower local talents with the necessary skills to succeed in the UAE’s tourism and hospitality sector, while creating more valuable job opportunities in this sector. This is a very important step in terms of Emiratisation, which is one of the cornerstones of the UAE Vision 2021; seeking to transform the Country’s hospitality sector."