In the presence of HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani participated in the 6th Edition of the GCC HR & Labor Market Conferenc held on Monday, 14 October 2019, in Sharjah, UAE; With the participation of selected HR officials in the GCC States and academics involved in the digital economy.

In his speech, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council commended the efforts exerted by the Government of the United Arab Emirates take care of human resources, and the ambitious strategic plans, financial resources and multiple capabilities that have been implemented to upgrade, qualify and train human resources to lead the development process in the UAE, which enabled it to occupy an advanced position among the countries of the world in the indicators of human development, sustainable development and global competitiveness. Rather, it occupied the first positions in various development indicators, in addition to the achievements of its rising youth, excellence in attending and practicing the most difficult jobs and professions.

The Secretary General stressed the keenness of the GCC States and the great attention they paid to this developmental issue, given its direct connection to the comprehensive development process that it seeks to ensure decent living for their citizens through providing appropriate employment opportunities. They also make great efforts by providing education at all levels, including higher education, training and enhancing domestic and foreign investment. However, the GCC economy continued to depend heavily on expatriate labor and its contribution to economic production.

He said that digital technology and artificial intelligence require the countries of the world to change their education and training plans and programs to be able to deal with this development, and to create and train human resources to be able to keep up and enter the market of knowledge, creativity, innovation and the virtual world.

He also pointed out that the competent authorities should raise the efficiency and excellence of human resources by caring for the ethical aspect and inherent values and promote the values of loyalty, integrity, perseverance and cooperation, focusing on the system of laws, regulations and administrative procedures that regulate work, preserve rights and define duties and responsibilities. This ensures a distinct work environment that helps increase production and stimulates innovation and creativity.

Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani pointed to the need for a comprehensive program to qualify young people to enable them to seize and provide job opportunities and not search for them, so that they are able to adapt to future work requirements. As well as, to take advantage of the opportunities so that this program deals with basic education with attention to modern scientific subjects such as mathematics, science and technology, programming, languages, communication and literature.