Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, today announced its partnership with TBH Consultancy, a Dubai-based Emiratization Advisory firm.
Workforce nationalization, known as Emiratization in the UAE, remains a top priority for the UAE Government, and the UAE Vision 2021 aims to increase Emiratization levels in the private sector by tenfold. With as many as 800,000 private sector jobs deemed as ‘Emiratizable’[1], there is a huge amount of opportunity for both local job seekers and employers alike.
Despite this, the public sector continues to be the employer of choice for Emiratis. According to research carried out by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, over 90% of employed Emirati youth are working in the public sector. Now more than ever, private sector employers need to develop more comprehensive talent strategies to attract, develop, and retain local talent, and encourage younger Emiratis to seek careers outside of traditional public sector routes.
Established in 2015, TBH Consulting is the UAE’s first full-fledged Emiratization Advisory business, as well as People and Business Advisory consultancy. The consultancy is led by Founder and Managing Director Abdulmuttalib (Talib) Hashim, who has dedicated 11 years to helping organizations employ and empower local talent in the UAE. TBH has an ambitious mission to rethink and reinvent how Emiratization is adopted.
The partnership will provide solutions that will help UAE-based firms strengthen their ability to drive business performance through people.
“We are delighted to be working in collaboration with TBH, on an area of significant importance to the UAE,” said Chris Page, CEO, Talent, Rewards & Performance, Middle East and Africa. “TBH brings deep subject matter expertise, cultural awareness and sensitivity to the challenges of increasing private sector Emiratization. Together with Aon’s regional and global expertise in Human Capital related advisory, programs and products, our partnership will provide us with a unique capability to support organizations in delivering innovative, value adding and sustainable solutions, against this critical mandate.”
Chris added: “Increasing Emiratization provides the private sector with a relatively untapped, well-educated, ambitious and entrepreneurial resource, capable of adding significant organizational value, whilst at the same time providing for the growth and development of Emirati business leaders of the future.”
Commenting on the partnership, Abdulmuttalib (Talib) Hashim said: “We realized that the conversation around the topic of Emiratization needed to evolve to become a more sophisticated one, addressing complex issues affecting the public and private sectors, as well as the community as a whole. In view of this, we believe, that the partnership with Aon will allow us to tap in to their global expertise and best practices, while bringing in the knowledge and in-depth insights we have developed over the years, of the needs of local talent and businesses.”
Abdulmutalib added: “This partnership will allow us to develop credible local knowledge around Emiratization that is relevant and brings to the market solutions that are effective and innovative, which we envision, will eventually help address one of the most burning issues not only in the UAE, but in the GCC region as well.”
