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Dubai: The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFA Dubai) has achieved 100 per cent Emiratisation across leadership, supervisory and critical roles, while its overall Emiratisation rate has reached 97.01 per cent, rising to 99 per cent when labour and support categories are excluded.
The Directorate also reported a 96 per cent readiness rate among candidates identified through succession plans, while recording zero turnover among employees in critical roles between 2019 and 2025.
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The results form part of GDRFA Dubai’s “Pioneering Emiratisation Model”, an integrated framework designed to move beyond recruitment targets by focusing on the attraction, development, retention and career progression of Emirati talent and preparing national employees for leadership, specialised and critical positions.
Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA Dubai, said investment in Emirati men and women was both a national responsibility and a long-term commitment to developing people capable of leading and shaping the future.
“Emirati men and women are the cornerstone of the sustainable success of our institutions. Investing in their capabilities is a national responsibility and a long-term commitment to developing people capable of leading and shaping the future,” Al Marri said.
“At GDRFA Dubai, we are committed to providing clear career pathways that enable national talent to learn, develop, assume responsibility, and make a meaningful impact.”
Focus shifts from recruitment to retention and leadership
Al Marri said the Directorate does not assess the success of Emiratisation solely by the number of Emiratis recruited.
“We do not measure the success of Emiratisation solely by the number of Emiratis we recruit, but by our ability to retain national talent, nurture its potential, and prepare it for leadership, specialised, and critical roles,” he said.
He said this approach was aimed at ensuring continuity of expertise and strengthening the institution’s readiness for the future.
The “Pioneering Emiratisation Model” links Emiratisation with talent management, learning and development, and succession planning, creating a career pathway that begins with attracting and recruiting national talent and continues through identifying potential, developing capabilities and preparing employees to take on greater responsibilities.
The model therefore integrates recruitment, learning, professional development and talent discovery as part of a continuous career journey rather than treating Emiratisation as a recruitment exercise alone.
96 per cent succession-readiness rate
The Directorate said the figures demonstrate the strength of this integrated approach.
Alongside the 100 per cent Emiratisation rate in leadership, supervisory and critical positions, GDRFA Dubai’s overall Emiratisation rate stands at 97.01 per cent. Excluding labour and support categories, the figure rises to 99 per cent.
The Directorate has also established a future talent pipeline through succession planning. The readiness rate of employees identified as succession candidates has reached 96 per cent, indicating that most of those selected for potential future roles have reached the required level of preparedness.
GDRFA Dubai also recorded a 0 per cent turnover rate among employees in critical roles from 2019 to 2025. The Directorate said the figure reflects its efforts to create an attractive and motivating workplace capable of retaining national expertise and maintaining the contribution of employees in strategically important positions.
Integrated human capital strategy
Major General Awad Mohammed Al Owaim, Assistant Director General for Human Resources and Finance at GDRFA Dubai, said the results reflected the maturity of the Directorate’s Emiratisation framework.
“These indicators reflect the maturity of the Emiratisation framework developed by GDRFA Dubai, which integrates the recruitment of national talent with talent management, professional development and succession planning as part of a comprehensive career pathway,” Al Owaim said.
“Our objective goes beyond achieving high Emiratisation rates; it is about building a sustainable pipeline of qualified Emirati talent capable of taking on leadership and specialised roles, as well as critical positions, with the competence and readiness required.”
He said GDRFA Dubai proactively plans for future workforce requirements, identifies promising talent at an early stage and provides development and retention pathways.
“We proactively plan for future talent needs, identify promising talent at an early stage, and provide clear pathways for their development and retention, ensuring continuity of expertise and knowledge transfer across the organisation,” he said.
Al Owaim said the 96 per cent readiness rate among succession candidates, combined with the Directorate’s ability to retain employees in critical roles, demonstrated the impact of systematic investment in national human capital.
He added that the approach strengthens GDRFA Dubai’s institutional readiness for future requirements.
Greater focus on Emirati women and youth
GDRFA Dubai said empowering Emirati women remains a key element of its human-capital strategy, with efforts aimed at strengthening their presence across different areas of work.
The Directorate is also focusing on Emirati youth, investing in their capabilities and providing opportunities and career pathways that support learning, professional development and preparation for future roles and skills.
Its workplace strategy is based on Emirati national identity, diversity, inclusion, equality and professionalism, while also bringing together professional well-being, quality of work life and mental well-being.
The approach is intended to provide equal opportunities for national employees to develop their capabilities, pursue professional growth and fulfil their career aspirations.
Gulf and UAE recognition
GDRFA Dubai’s Emiratisation efforts have received recognition at both Gulf and UAE levels.
The Directorate won the Best Emiratisation Initiative Award across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in 2018.
This was followed in 2021 by the Best Emiratisation Initiative in the Gulf Award at the Gulf Government HR Awards.
The Directorate’s “Pioneering Emiratisation Model” subsequently won the “Enhancing National Identity” category at the UAE Ideas Award 2023.
Building the next generation of national talent
GDRFA Dubai said its Emiratisation framework will continue to focus on developing career pathways for Emirati employees, retaining high-potential talent and preparing national staff for leadership, specialised, critical and future roles.
The Directorate said the strategy is intended to strengthen the contribution of Emirati men and women to its development while supporting sustainable institutional performance, continuity of expertise and long-term readiness for future challenges.
