FUTURE FORESIGHT FOR THE UAE NATIONALS TALENT MANAGEMENT WITHIN ABU DHABI GOVERNMENT ENTITIES: EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE PROCESS MODERNISATION ON FUTURE SKILLS AND THE NEED FOR TALENT POOL

The need for talent management has become more necessary with the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), in accordance with its strategic plans titled “UAE Vision 2031” and Abu Dhabi Emirate’s “Economic Vision 2030,” is aspiring to be among the leading countries in the world and a model of excellence in terms of governance, technology, economic diversification, social development, and environmental sustainability. The achievement of these strategic objectives lies in tapping the talent pool in the country. This can be achieved through the development of future skills. However, there is no central talent management framework for Abu Dhabi Government Entities (ADGE), which forms the basis of this study.
The aim of this study is to develop a talent management framework for Abu Dhabi Government Entities (ADGE) by identifying the need for talent pool to support the alignment of future skills within ADGE to the achievement of Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030.
The study adopted a sequential exploratory mixed-method design, involving a qualitative design where key participants were interviewed, followed by a quantitative design based on a set of research hypotheses that were tested using factor analysis, regression analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The quantitative data were drawn from a sample size of 500 respondents using purposive sampling.
The qualitative findings of the study revealed the future skills relevant for ADGE. The quantitative study found that human resource process modernisation has a significant positive influence on the future skills for UAE Nationals in ADGE. The study also found that these future skills have a significant positive influence on the talent pool. However, the study did not find human resource process modernisation to have a significant positive influence on the talent pool. Nonetheless, it has an indirect effect on the talent pool through future skills. Thus, the study concluded that future skills have a significant partial mediation effect on the influence of human resource process modernisation on the talent pool in ADGE, and the approaches confirmed each other.
By proposing a talent management framework for ADGE based on human resource process modernisation, future skills, and the need for a talent pool, this study therefore contributes to talent management in ADGE. The framework is built through deductions from the 5C framework theory for talent management. This research also contributed to the existing body of knowledge by identifying the future skills needed for the development of talent pool for the achievement of the UAE Economic Vision 2030. The proposed framework for ADGE can therefore be used to drive their talent pool development to help achieve the economic vision of Abu Dhabi.