ABU DHABI — Around 14 per cent of young urban Emiratis in Abu Dhabi are unemployed, the rate of joblessness is even higher in the rural areas and the worst among young women as 21 per cent of them are unemployed, a top 
official said.

This is despite the fact that the emirate is riding on economic growth path and is providing high-salaried jobs to the one-million-strong workforce from around the globe, said Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council, to participants of a two-day conference on ‘Private sector Emiratisation for economic prosperity’, that kicked off in the 
capital on Monday.

The conference was opened by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and was addressed by Mohammed Omar Abdullah, Director General of Department of Economic Development Abu Dhabi, and Abdullah Al Darmaki, the General Manager of Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council.

The Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council that is involved in providing placements for Emiratis within the emirate registered 10,067 job seekers in 2009, over 50 per cent of whom were in Abu Dhabi’s Al Ain City and Western Region. Many of them have diplomas and higher degrees, said Muneeb Kazim, ADTC’s director for strategy, planning.

In line with its ‘Economic Vision 2030,’ Abu Dhabi has identified 10 key sectors for expansion and economic growth that would create two million jobs in 20 years, said Mohammed Omar Abdullah, the Director General of DED. There are five-year and 10-year plans for economic development and job creation, he said.

By year 2018, he said that in all 270,000 jobs will be created of which 61,600 will be in the manufacturing sector, 59,400 in hydrocarbon and petrochemicals sector, 57,400 in the real estate sector and the rest will be created in tourism, healthcare, and financial services sectors.

In the next five years, 140,000 jobs will be created in priority economic sectors that include tourism, hospitality and travel, finance, insurance, manufacturing, trade, services, hydrocarbons. Other sectors include media, communication and technology, real estate and healthcare.

In the next 10 years, 130,000 Emiratis are expected to join the labour market, 13,000 each year, said Muneeb Kazim, Director for strategy, planning and policy at ADTC.

According to a report, the university-educated proportion of new entrants to the labour market is expected to grow from 21 per cent in 2008 to 50 per cent in 2018, as government provides enormous facilities for youngsters to earn higher degrees.

The Chairman of Abu Dhabi Education Council, Dr Mugheer said that a strategic plan has been developed to overhaul the school educational system that will now focus on technical and professional education