As part of its broader efforts to empower Emiratis, drive forward employee skilling in the government and achieve central goals of the Dubai Strategic Plan, the Dubai Government Human Resources Department (DGHR) is partnering with Microsoft, bringing together their respective skilling programmes. A virtual online ceremony saw an MoU signed byH.E. Abdulla Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi, Director General of DGHRand Sayed Hashish, General Manager, Microsoft UAE.

The Riyada program aims to empower the Emirati workforce and equip them with technical, behavioral and professional competencies. Microsoft will provide support under one of its pillars of its Tomoh Emiratization programme , which aligns well in delivering central aspects of Riyada, offering internship and secondment opportunities at Microsoft to UAE nationals. The practical applications will include training and equipping Emiratis with worldwide on the job skills by shadowing professionals within Microsoft as well as offering them professional certification courses to accelerate their careers.

“This partnership with Microsoft is focused on delivering world-class training to enhance the performance of UAE institutions,” said H.E. Abdulla Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi, Director General, DGHR. “We are confident that this agreement will serve to further elevate the Emirates as a global innovation center. The training and expertise provided to Emirati talent will enhance the skills of a future generation, cementing the UAE’s status as a diverse digital hub of creativity and innovation.”

“Our organization is committed to supporting the UAE future vision of a digital nation. The Tomoh programme will equip Emirati youth with globally recognized skills – a key pillar of the National Agenda and aligned to Vision 2021, thereby driving the nation’s digital transformation and global competitiveness,” said Sayed Hashish General Manager, Microsoft UAE. “This collaboration is a natural progression of Microsoft’s role in the UAE economic transformation journey in the quarter century we have been present in the Emirates. We seek to deepen our contribution to the Emirati community throughout the 21^stcentury, by empowering the next generation of young talent.”

“In my eight years at Microsoft, I have benefitted from many possibilities and fulfilling career opportunities open to Emirati talent in a global technology company,” said Hamad Mattar, Business Programmes & Operations Lead, Microsoft Middle East & Africa. “Tomoh is a real asset for us, and we have been impressed by the highly motivated, diverse and skilled Emiratis we have been able to work with through this initiative.”

The Tomoh programme has been carefully designed based on research looking at the current and future needs of the UAE job market. It is aligned with the objective of deepening collaboration with Emiratisation initiatives and focused on three core pillars: ‘Learn at Microsoft’ – that offers internship and secondment opportunities to UAE nationals and involves learning of globally recognized skills. ‘Work at Microsoft’ – an opportunity for Emiratis to pursue careers at Microsoft, either through direct hiring of experienced Emirati professionals, or under the ‘Microsoft Aspire Experience’, designed for fresh graduates. And Skill-Up Digitally – that enrolls students, job seekers and entrepreneurs into a powerful digital skilling programme, enabled by the Microsoft Cloud Society.