Hire certified talent
Academy graduates join your team in HR and Talent, Engineering, Marketing, GTM and Sales, or Operations, after a live project.
For employers
Behind on your Saudization or Emiratisation targets?
We have the talent pool, trained in AI and ready to deliver. Certified Saudi and Emirati professionals, placed into real roles in your team.
At a glance
- Certified in AITooling, automation, agents and data
- 5 functionsHR, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Operations
- KSA and UAESaudi and Emirati talent
- Two routesHire new talent or upskill your team
The problem
Targets are rising. Good hires are hard to find.
- 01
Quotas keep rising
Emiratisation steps up every six months, and Saudization is now set profession by profession.
- 02
The costs are real
Missed targets bring contributions and fines. In KSA, your Nitaqat band can affect access to government tenders.
- 03
Job boards don't find them
Qualified national talent with the right skills for your function is hard to reach through job adverts alone.
- 04
Poor fits leave
Hires made only to reach a number tend to leave early, and the gap opens again.
The numbers
What the rules require now.
United Arab Emirates
- 10%
Emiratisation target in skilled roles by the end of 2026 for companies with 50 or more employees, rising 1% every six months.
Source: Khaleej Times, citing MoHRE, checked 2026-10-19
- AED 120,000
Yearly contribution (AED 10,000 a month) for each Emirati not hired against the first-half 2026 target. The deadline was 30 June 2026; collection started 1 July.
Source: Gulf News, checked 2026-10-19
- AED 108,000
Contribution for each Emirati not hired against 2025 targets, collected from January 2026.
Source: Gulf News, citing MoHRE, checked 2026-10-19
- Up to AED 500,000
Fines for evading targets rise with each offence: AED 100,000, then AED 300,000, then AED 500,000. Fake Emiratisation is fined AED 20,000 to AED 100,000 per worker.
Source: Gulf News, checked 2026-10-19
- 20 to 49
Selected companies with 20 to 49 employees in 14 sectors also had to hire Emiratis: one in 2024 and another in 2025.
Source: The National, checked 2026-10-21
- 2 in 3
Emiratis in private-sector jobs who said they were considering a move back to the public sector, in a 2023 PwC survey. Retention is as important as hiring.
Source: The National, citing PwC, checked 2026-10-21
Saudi Arabia
- 30% to 100%
Required share of Saudi nationals by profession: for example 30% in engineering, 60% in sales and marketing, 70% in procurement and 100% in named administrative roles.
Source: Middle East Briefing, checked 2026-10-21
- 340,000+
New private-sector jobs for Saudi nationals targeted by the new phase of Nitaqat, 2026 to 2028.
Source: MHRSD, checked 2026-10-19
- 269
Professions now covered by profession-level Saudization quotas.
Source: Middle East Briefing, checked 2026-10-19
- 60%
Saudization in sales and marketing roles at companies with three or more people in them, from 19 April 2026.
Source: DLA Piper, checked 2026-10-19
- 30%
Saudization across 46 engineering professions at companies with five or more engineers.
Source: Gulf Business, checked 2026-10-19
- 100%
Saudization required in 69 named administrative support roles, such as secretary, data entry and translator.
Source: Arab News, checked 2026-10-19
- Qiwa only
From 15 April 2026, Saudi employees count toward Saudization only if their contracts are documented on Qiwa.
Source: Zawya, checked 2026-10-19
- SAR 4,000
Minimum monthly salary for a Saudi employee to count in full toward Saudization. Some professions set higher floors, such as engineering at SAR 8,000.
Source: Argaam, checked 2026-10-19
- Etimad
Companies in Nitaqat's red band cannot bid for government tenders on Etimad, and each tender can set a minimum band.
Source: Middle East Briefing, checked 2026-10-19
Figures are a summary of public guidance, not legal advice. Requirements vary by sector, size and activity.
The solution
Certified national talent, trained for your function.
HAILO Academy sources Saudi and Emirati talent, certifies them in AI across tooling, automation, agents and data, and places them in real roles from day one.
Upskill your national team
We certify the Saudi and Emirati employees you already have, so they move into AI-capable roles and stay.
Backed by
AI platforms we train on
- Anthropic
- MicrosoftCopilot
- NVIDIA
- OpenAI
- Gemini
Why it works
Meet your targets with people who deliver.
Targets, with real capability
Every hire is trained for the function they join, so the role is real and the work gets done.
Lower attrition
A structured programme, a live project and a clear path give people reasons to stay.
AI-capable from day one
Certified in the tools, automation and agents your team is starting to use.
Built into every HAILO search
Nationalisation is part of every hiring plan we run, not an afterthought.
Use cases
Where this helps most.
- a
Entering the Saudi market
You are setting up in KSA and need Saudi hires in place from day one.
- b
UAE scale-up, 50+ staff
You are growing fast and behind on your half-yearly Emiratisation target.
- c
Sales and marketing in KSA
Your commercial team is affected by the new profession-level quotas for sales and marketing roles.
- d
Upskilling your national team
You want Saudi or Emirati employees you already have to move into AI roles.
- e
Bidding for Saudi government work
You need a Nitaqat band that keeps you eligible for tenders on Etimad.
With HAILO's other solutions
Pair it with the rest of your hiring.
Embedded
Forward Deployed Recruiters inside your team run your whole hiring plan, with nationalisation built in.
See EmbeddedExecutive search
Senior and rare hires in KSA and the UAE, alongside a national talent pipeline below them.
See Executive searchTalk to us
Tell us what you need.
We'll reply within one working day to arrange a discovery call.
Ready to build your national team?
A short call to understand your targets, functions and timeline.