UAE: New initiative to increase Emirati talent in tourism industry

A new drive has been launched to increase the number of UAE nationals in the hospitality and tourism sector. Medyaf, an industry nationalisation initiative at Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), part of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, has launched the ‘Explore the Tourism Industry in Dubai’ initiative, DCT announced Friday.

The initiative, according to a press release, is designed to empower Emirati talent seeking to join the tourism workforce with the fundamental knowledge and skills through an immersive programme of interactive workshops, field trips, vocational experiences, and hands-on training.

Medyaf was established in 2016 to help attract, train, and encourage UAE citizens to take up tourist-facing roles across the tourism ecosystem.

As part of the initiative, two workshops were hosted by Medyaf last month; the first was conducted in Al Seef Heritage Hotel and attended by 10 participants, whilst the second was held in Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, and welcomed 11 participants.

Both workshops contained theoretical and practical activities in an engaging, interactive environment, and provided participants the opportunity to learn about hotel operations, hospitality, and fundamentals of culinary arts, along with hands-on training.

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Mariam Al Maeeni, director of Industry Nationalisation at Dubai College of Tourism, said, “We are delighted to launch the Medyaf ‘Explore the Tourism Industry in Dubai’ initiative, inspired by the constant efforts of our visionary leadership to boost the economy by providing opportunities for Emirati talent to excel across sectors.”

She said, “The initiative is also in line with the important role played by Medyaf in supporting the UAE’s industry nationalisation strategy, which aims to support and bolster Emirati talent and increase the number of UAE nationals entering the tourism sector.”

Al Maeeni explained Medyaf is a comprehensive public-private collaboration which includes a plethora of immersive workshops, training events, and industry activities contributing to the growth of the tourism sector, in addition to supporting the diversification of the national economy.

• Dubai