Dubai: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is encouraging Emirati professionals in medical and administrative fields to take advantage of its specialised training and employment programmes, designed to support the Emiratisation strategy and strengthen the workforce with highly skilled and qualified talent.

As part of its annual participation in Ru’ya 2025 – the country’s largest careers fair dedicated to Emiratis – the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced 342 jobs for Emirati nationals in medical, administrative and technical fields. The opportunities include positions within the Authority as well as roles offered by private healthcare providers showcasing alongside DHA at the event.

Noura Al Midfa, Director of Human Resources at the DHA said the Authority is receiving applicants at Hall 2, Stand B2-1, at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 23 to 25 September, where initial recruitment procedures and interviews will be held.

“Alongside job interviews, DHA is running advanced training programmes to prepare young Emiratis for the labour market and open opportunities at leadership, supervisory and operational levels,” she said.

Al Midfa said the programmes are central to DHA’s Emiratisation strategy and are being implemented with a clear and consistent approach.

One of the key initiatives is the Nokhba programme, aimed at attracting Emirati talent, boosting Emiratisation in healthcare and preparing a new generation to lead the sector’s development.

She explained that the 12-month programme consists of specialised on-the-job training, real-world tasks and responsibilities, and personal skills development.

The Nokhba programme offers successful graduates career opportunities across a wide range of fields, including information technology and cybersecurity, health insurance, health auditing and regulation, medical licensing, research and data analysis, as well as finance, contracts and procurement.

Al Midfa noted that since its launch in 2023, the Nokhba  programme has succeeded in attracting a large pool of Emirati talent in areas such as information systems, computer science, public health and nutrition, IT, and other administrative, technical and specialist disciplines. She added that applicants can register for the programme through the “Dubai Careers” platform under the title Trainee.

Commenting on wider initiatives to attract Emiratis into healthcare, Dr Latifa Al Rostamani, Acting Director of Medical Education and Research at DHA, said the Authority runs several programmes aligned with the national Emiratisation agenda. These, she said, are designed to empower citizens to lead the sector, meet community needs with highly qualified professionals, and strengthen key medical and allied health fields such as nursing, pharmacy and other support specialties, particularly in Dubai. The programmes also promote preventive and primary healthcare in line with international standards.

Among the flagship initiatives is the Tibb wa Uloom (Medicine and Sciences) programme, which attracts high-achieving Emirati secondary school graduates to study healthcare-related disciplines. Since its launch in 2016, the programme has enrolled 553 students, of whom 242 have graduated and are now working across different medical fields.

She also highlighted Dubai’s Unified Internship Programme for medicine and dentistry, which has benefitted 512 doctors, alongside 182 doctors who have taken part in residency and fellowship programmes in collaboration with the private healthcare sector over the past three years.

According to Dr Al Rostamani, DHA has ensured that these initiatives are supported by advanced, purpose-built learning platforms that provide training, assessment and continuous skills development under the supervision of leading healthcare consultants.

Applications for these programmes – Tibb wa Uloom, the Unified Internship, and Residency and Fellowship – can be submitted through the Authority’s online Mawaheb platform: https://mawaheb.dha.gov.ae.