As the UAE enters its next phase of growth, the private sector has a critical role in turning youth potential into future‑ready skills, innovation and a lasting source of national competitiveness
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Human capital has long been at the heart of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s growth story. The strength of our youth – digitally native, globally aware and deeply motivated – is a defining factor in sustaining competitiveness, resilience and global relevance.
This focus is not accidental. The National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 20311 reflects a clear focus on future readiness, innovation and skills development, while the UAE Centennial 20712 places strong emphasis on investing in future generations. These efforts are already bearing fruit, with the UAE ranking first regionally.
Yet government efforts alone will not be enough. The private sector has a major role to play in translating national ambition into sustained economic value, particularly as young people are no longer making a traditional workforce entry, they are increasingly emerging as entrepreneurs, innovators and builders of new sectors and business models.
With nearly half of the UAE’s population aged between 15 and 35,3 the country has a demographic advantage few economies can match. This presents a growing opportunity for the private sector. Expanding access to meaningful career pathways, investing in entrepreneurial capability and equipping young people with future-ready skills will be critical to turning this demographic strength into long-term economic value and shared national progress.
The urgency is growing as technological change accelerates. In the UAE, AI is already becoming embedded in everyday workflows, as the operating environment becomes more connected and dynamic. According to the UAE findings of PwC’s Middle East Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025, nearly 44% of respondents use generative AI (GenAI) tools at least monthly, ahead of their global peers.4
PwC research also points to the growing demand for AI-related roles in the country - accelerating two to three times faster than overall job postings, extending well beyond the technology sector into services, energy and manufacturing.5
How the private sector can support youth talent and future skills in the UAE
So, if the next phase of growth is to be more digitally enabled and innovation-led, businesses will need to do more than hire talent; they will need to help build it. This means moving beyond ad hoc training toward structured, market-aligned upskilling that gives young people practical, real-world experience.
In the UAE, organisations such as the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation6 and the Al-Futtaim Education Foundation7 are already making a meaningful contribution to this shared vision by helping prepare young people for a new world that requires passion, curiosity and a spirit of innovation. This is being done through technology-enabled education, scholarships and skills development programmes built on strong partnerships.
There is also growing recognition of the need to adapt. PwC’s survey of the UAE workforce8 found that a quarter of respondents expect significant skills disruption in the future. While more than 80% also rated transferable skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and critical thinking as very or extremely important. This indicates the need to invest not only in technical expertise, but also in mentorship, early-career coaching and entrepreneurial exposure.
At PwC Middle East, we are reinforcing this commitment through a series of targeted programmes designed to equip young people with future‑ready skills. Initiatives such as ElevateME, our award‑winning regional upskilling programme, provides one‑to‑one mentoring by PwC professionals to help students prepare for the workplace and helps bridge the gap between academia and the professional world. Mentoring focuses on areas such as career pathways, job applications, interview and presentation skills, and insights into the consulting industry. Through this, along with other initiatives such as Future Essentials Skills training, entrepreneurship programmes and youth entrepreneurship initiatives, PwC Middle East has supported more than 2,000 students and young professionals across the UAE.
Strengthening human capability through partnerships
In the UAE, strong public-private collaboration is playing a key role in strengthening youth potential. A recent partnership announced by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation and Al Ghurair Investment is expanding access to professional certificates and apprenticeship opportunities for young people.9
PwC Middle East’s partnership with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources also gives federal employees full- or part-time hands-on training in a professional work environment10 and is structured around knowledge transfer, mentorship and applied learning to strengthen national capability at scale.
This collaborative model is playing out across the wider economy. The national campaign “The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World” brings together government, private sector partners and wider ecosystem players to support entrepreneurship through mentorship, training programmes, shared workspaces and job creation initiatives.11
We are also seeing a broader shift in how private-sector contribution is being shaped from standalone initiatives towards more coordinated, system-level impact in the UAE. The Majra Impact CSR Fund plays an important role in this by bringing together government, the private sector, academia and civil society around this common purpose.12
Why youth investment is central to the UAE’s next phase of growth
Ultimately, the UAE’s next phase of growth will depend largely on how successfully it invests in its people, especially in its youth. This is a shared endeavour between government and the private sector. While our nation’s leaders have set a clear direction through long-term strategies on human development, digital transformation and artificial intelligence, the opportunity now is for the private sector to deepen its role as a crucial partner in national development.
In the private sector, this starts with recognising that supporting youth is not a peripheral activity, it is central to long-term success. By offering guidance, creating opportunities and investing in capability, organisations can do more than strengthen workforce participation. They can help build a generation equipped not only for employment, but for innovation and enterprise. This will do more than strengthen workforce participation in the UAE - it will help turn human capital into a powerful driver of productivity, innovation and national resilience. We are fully committed to supporting this journey, reflecting our commitment to a country that continues to show that true strength lies in unity and sustained progress.
UAE Country Senior Partner, PwC Middle East
