Abu Dhabi Executive Committee Approves Three Verticals For Society Development Accelerators Stimulus

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 23rd Sep, 2018) The Executive Committee of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council has revealed the details of 10 initiatives, as part of the society pillar of the Abu Dhabi Development Accelerator Programme 'Ghadan 21'.

These initiatives fall under three key verticals, namely, education and employment, housing and communities, and social support.

Building on its continuous efforts to spur job creation (for UAE nationals), the Abu Dhabi government has developed a sustainable job creation system, which aims to create job opportunities, qualify and train job seekers, and overcome common challenges by activating placement plans and establishing strategic partnerships with the private sector in relation to Emiratisation.

Around 1,500 UAE Nationals have already been placed in jobs over the last 3 months, while over 3,500 immediate vacancies for Nationals were identified across government and key private institutions. Targeted and specialised training programmes are being offered to harness and build the job seekers’ capabilities and skills, to match qualifications with jobs available.

Recognising the importance of education in building a knowledge-driven economy, Six private high-quality cost-effective schools will be established, providing 15,000 seats by 2021. An additional set of 15,000 seats will be available in government charter schools by 2019. These initiatives will guarantee the expansion of the education capacity, while maintaining quality education. It also forms a promising opportunity that would boost private investments in the education sector. The government charter school programme is also expected to save AED20,000 per student per academic year.

In line with the emirate’s plans to double the number of housing loans given to nationals to 5,000 loans per year, the Abu Dhabi government is also working on increasing the provisioning of housing units to 15,000 housing units in the coming three years. So far, 2,500 units have already been approved, with another 2,500 units are pending approval before the end of 2018.

Spending of an approved budget, totaling AED 3 billion, has already commenced towards developing the basic community facilities of the Khalifa City, Mohamed bin Zayed City, Shakhbout City and Zayed City.

On the social level, the launch of "Maan" is imminent. "Maan" aims to activate the social agenda by raising public awareness that building and developing the community is a joint responsibility between the government, the private sector and the civil sector. A social investment fund will be created to support social projects that will have a clear impact on the development of social services in the emirate. The Authority also seeks to create volunteering opportunities, which will contribute significantly to the development and strengthening of the social fabric of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The Social Assistance Authority’s mandate has been approved to provide financial and non-financial assistance to eligible families across the emirate, ensuring achieving quality of life for everyone within the community. In collaboration with strategic partners, the authority will also develop activation programmes that will enable families to become financially independent. The Authority plans to launch its first programmes in Q1 2019.