Following Ru’ya 2026, Yousuf bin Lahej of the Emirates Group explains what meaningful Emiratisation looks like in aviation, and why the real work begins after someone is hired.
Beyond the Numbers: How Different Sectors Are Rethinking Emiratisation
An airline is judged by what happens after take-off. Emiratisation is starting to be judged the same way.
For most of the past decade, the national question was about getting people in the door. How many Emiratis could the private sector absorb, how quickly, and in which roles? The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation reports more than 190,000 Emiratis working across close to 32,000 private sector companies. Ninety-five per cent of covered establishments met their targets for the first half of 2026. Nafis now runs to 2040, and its stated priority has moved from employment numbers towards the quality and sustainability of the careers Emiratis build.
As we argued in our Ru’ya 2026 preview, the UAE has stopped asking whether Emiratis will join the private sector. It is now asking what they will become inside it.
That question is best answered sector by sector, by the employers who have to live with the answer. Few organisations have a longer view of it than the Emirates Group, whose airline and aviation services businesses have connected Dubai to the world for four decades.
“At the Emirates Group, meaningful Emiratisation goes beyond increasing the number of Emirati employees,” says Yousuf bin Lahej, Vice President, Emiratisation and Government Relations at the Emirates Group. “For us, it is about giving UAE Nationals the opportunity to build meaningful careers, take pride in contributing to an organisation that connects Dubai and the UAE with the world, and continue learning and growing throughout their careers.”
Meaningful, not merely measured
Yousuf bin Lahej sums up the Group’s strategy in two words: attract and develop.
Attracting talent, he says, means creating “rewarding career opportunities that encourage Emirati talent to build meaningful careers within the organisation and contribute to the continued growth and ambition of the UAE.” Developing it means equipping Emirati employees “with the tools, support and experience they need to grow professionally and personally.”
The phrase that matters there is throughout their careers. A headcount figure looks at a single moment. A career covers decades. An employer that only measures the moment will manage the moment, and it can meet its target while losing the people who made it possible.
The career that begins before the application
The Emirates Group’s approach starts well before anyone applies.
“We take a long-term approach, starting before someone even considers applying to the Emirates Group,” Yousuf bin Lahej says. “Through career fairs, school visits and open days, we engage Emiratis at different stages of their journey, from young people exploring their options to graduates and experienced professionals, and help them understand the breadth of careers available across the Group.”
This matters more than it first appears. One of the quieter risks in any nationalisation effort is the early exit: a hire who joins without a realistic picture of the role, loses interest and leaves. Addressing that risk means starting well before the offer letter.
Ru’ya was built for exactly this kind of early engagement. Over three days at Dubai World Trade Centre, students, graduates and experienced professionals met the organisations that could shape their next decade. They could see what a career looks like from the inside before committing to it.
Learning as a daily practice
Once Emiratis join, Yousuf bin Lahej says, the investment continues.
“Emirati employees have opportunities to learn every day through new challenges, exposure to experienced colleagues and world-class training, including programmes delivered with leading local and international industry partners. This helps them build globally relevant skills and continue growing throughout their careers.”
On retention, his answer is simple. “Retention is equally about creating an environment where people feel supported to succeed,” he says. “By combining meaningful career opportunities, continuous development and the right support, we want Emirati talent to build rewarding, long-term careers with the Emirates Group.”
This is the core of the argument. Development and retention are the same strategy seen from two sides. People stay where they keep growing.
Aviation is bigger than the aircraft
Ask most people to picture a career in aviation, and they will describe a cockpit or a cabin. Yousuf bin Lahej wants young Emiratis to look much further.
“As the UAE aviation sector expands, driven by the development of Al Maktoum International Airport and the continued growth of Emirates and dnata, young Emirati professionals will have opportunities across a much broader range of careers than people may traditionally associate with aviation,” he says. “These span flight operations, engineering and airport operations through to technology, data, commercial, customer experience and corporate functions.”
The capabilities he highlights reach beyond aviation: “Digital fluency, adaptability, problem-solving and strong customer-service skills will become increasingly important.” He singles out one direction in particular. “We particularly encourage Emirati talent to explore careers in AI and other emerging technologies, which will play a growing role in improving operational efficiency, decision-making and the customer experience.”
The Group’s own growth gives that advice extra weight. Al Maktoum International is set to redraw Dubai’s aviation map. For young Emiratis entering the workforce now, the careers being created by that expansion are still taking shape, and they can grow into them as they do.
“For UAE Nationals,” Yousuf bin Lahej says, “this growth creates an opportunity not only to build exciting careers, but also to play an active role in the next chapter of Dubai and the aviation story.”
The one change
Asked what employers need to change so that Emiratisation becomes a long-term strategy rather than a hiring exercise, Yousuf bin Lahej gives one answer.
“Invest in Emirati talent for the long term,” he says. “Emiratisation should focus on creating a strong pipeline of skilled Emirati professionals who can contribute to the success of their organisations and the continued growth of the UAE economy, rather than focusing on headcount alone.”
He is clear about where that responsibility sits. “Employers have a responsibility to provide continuous development, meaningful career pathways and opportunities for advancement. They also need to create an environment where Emirati employees feel supported to succeed, take on greater responsibility and continue developing throughout their careers.”
The payoff, in his words, is that this long-term commitment “helps embed Emirati talent across the business.”
What every sector can take from aviation
Aviation has lessons that travel well beyond airports. Three stand out for HR leaders in any industry.
Start the relationship years early. The strongest pipelines begin with school visits, open days and career fairs, long before a vacancy exists. Candidates who understand a career before they choose it are better placed to stay in it.
Treat development as your retention strategy. Daily learning, exposure to experienced colleagues and structured training are what help keep people engaged over time, well past the first months on the job.
Widen the picture of what your sector offers. If young Emiratis only see the most visible roles, they will overlook most of the opportunity. Aviation is technology,
data, engineering and customer experience as much as it is flying. Most industries have a similar story they have not yet told.
Where the next chapter gets written
From 28 to 30 September, Ru’ya 2026 brought more than 150 employers, thousands of job opportunities and more than 23 industries together under one roof at Dubai World Trade Centre, all focused on a single audience: Emirati talent.
Dubai World Trade Centre has spent years building Ru’ya into more than a recruitment event. It is where the country’s Emiratisation ambition meets the people it is meant to serve, face to face. The conversations Yousuf bin Lahej describes, which start before an application and continue for a whole career, happened there in public.
The targets brought Emiratis through the door. The next question is what they go on to become inside.
StrongYes is the online media partner for Ru’ya 2026
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Ru’ya will return to Dubai World Trade Centre from 28 to 30 September 2027, bringing Emirati talent and employers together once again. Find out more about Ru’ya Careers
