157 thousand citizens work in the private sector and 92% achieve targets

The Secretary-General of the Emirates Competitiveness Council, Ghannam Al Mazrouei, confirmed that the “NAFES” program has recorded significant progress in enhancing the presence of citizens in the private sector, as the number of Emiratis working in it has increased to 157,000 citizens, while the program has achieved 92% of its targets until the year 2025, a percentage that reflects the success of “NAFES” in transforming its vision into a tangible reality and enhancing the competitiveness of national cadres.

During his speech at the second session of the annual Nafs Forum, Al Mazrouei revealed the features of the strategy of the Emirates Competitiveness Council for the year 2026, which will include additional initiatives aimed at covering the citizen empowerment journey from the early stages of education until reaching employment, in addition to strengthening partnerships with the private sector to prepare the national cadres of the nation for the jobs of the future.

He said that the program brought about a clear shift in the trends of new graduates, as their enrollment rate in the private sector increased from 15% to 58%, meaning that 6 out of every 10 graduates are starting their careers today in the private sector. He pointed out that the number of citizens registered with pension authorities and funds increased by 245% between 2022 and 2025, stressing that the impact of “NAFES” is not limited to the economic aspect, but rather extends to include the stability and quality of citizen families. Its life, as the number of beneficiaries of the program reached more than 132 thousand citizens, in addition to disbursing a child allowance to about 24 thousand children of the beneficiaries.

Al Mazrouei stressed that the results achieved today confirm that Nafiz’s journey is moving steadily in the right direction, explaining that the number of citizens working in the private and banking sectors has increased from 29,000 to more than 157,000 citizens, with a record growth rate of more than 437% in just four years. The number of private sector establishments in which citizens work has also expanded from 7,000 establishments to more than 30,000 establishments, indicating that this rapid growth has contributed to achieving the program’s objectives in an accelerated and effective manner.

He added that the achieved successes came as a result of the directives of the wise leadership and within the fifty projects that launched the “Nafes” program in September 2021, with the allocation of 24 billion dirhams to empower 170,000 citizens in the private sector, noting that the wise leadership has placed the future of the nation’s people at the top of its priorities.

He explained that “NAFES” was not just an employment initiative, but rather an integrated national system that believed that humans are the true wealth and most lasting investment, and that empowering them is the basis for building a prosperous and sustainable economy.