“Manufacturers 2026” provides 1,000 new job opportunities for citizens

Officials participating in the “Manufacturers 2026” exhibition for jobs in industry and advanced technology, which began its activities in Abu Dhabi yesterday, said that there is a change in the type of jobs required by the private industrial sector, compared to what was the case 10 years ago, as the current focus is on jobs such as programming, automation, data analysis, and others.

They confirmed to Emirates Today on the sidelines of the exhibition, which lasts for two days with the participation of more than 70 companies, that more than 5,200 job opportunities have been provided for citizens in the industrial sector over three years, noting that the exhibition exceeded the target, which was 5,000 job opportunities by 2027.

They explained that since the exhibition was launched in 2023, it has provided more than 4,200 job opportunities, while this year’s edition has provided 1,000 new opportunities.

New skills

In detail, the Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology for the Industrial Accelerators Sector, Osama Amir Fadl, said that the “Manufacturers” exhibition is one of the main initiatives of the national strategy for industry and advanced technology with the aim of providing job opportunities in the industrial sector for national cadres, and qualifying them in parallel with the change and transformation that currently exists in the sector in terms of the jobs required.

Fadl added that the current focus is on new job skills that include programming, automation, data analysis, “robotics,” and other jobs that were not required 10 years ago, pointing out that the industrial sector in the UAE is in continuous transformation based on the goals of the national strategy.

He explained that since the launch of the exhibition three years ago, the Ministry of Industry has set a goal of providing more than 5,000 job opportunities by the year 2027, noting that the announcement of more than 1,000 new job opportunities during the 2026 edition of the exhibition raised the total opportunities provided by the exhibition to more than 5,200 job opportunities, which means achieving the target a full year before the specified date.

Motivating companies

For her part, Senior Vice President of Group Commercial Affairs, In-Country Value and Industrial Development at ADNOC, Salama Al-Haj Al-Awadhi, said that the “Manufacturers Jobs” exhibition in its third session (2026), in partnership between ADNOC and the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, aims to employ and develop national cadres to work in the private industrial sector.

She added that during the past two editions, the exhibition created more than 4,200 jobs, while the current edition created 1,000 new jobs, bringing the total to 5,200 jobs in three years.

Al-Awadhi stated that ADNOC is working through the exhibition to motivate companies working with it and suppliers to employ and qualify national cadres, especially in light of ADNOC’s intention to implement a number of strategic projects worth more than 200 billion dirhams, noting that many of the companies working with ADNOC in these projects are looking for national competencies in the specializations of engineering, programming, data analysis, robotics and other technical and specialized jobs.

Periodic participation

In turn, the Head of Purchasing at the E& Group, Saeed Al Zarouni, said, “E& is one of the most important partners of the Musaneen Exhibition in attracting citizens in various fields, including sales and customer service,” pointing out that since the beginning of the National Content Program, E& has been keen to participate.

In a related context, the Director of the Strategic Partnerships Department for Human Resources at Emirates Global Aluminium, Marwan Al Bastaki, said that the company participates in the “Manufacturers” exhibition on a regular basis to attract citizens to work in the aluminum industry sector, which is one of the largest industries in the country.

He added, “Participation aims to attract citizens who are university graduates and have high school diplomas, especially in engineering specializations, as the company works to hone their experience and skills through national training programs to enable them to work in the aluminum industry sector and to be experts in this industry.”

• 5,200 job opportunities provided by “manufacturers” to citizens within 3 years.