As part of the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2025, the second edition of the Future of Work Forum was held with the attendance and participation of Ministers of Labour and Human Resources, policymakers, economic experts and business leaders from various countries. The agenda featured six sessions where participants exchanged ideas and visions for shaping a future work environment driven by innovation and sustainability.
Discussions covered various approaches to wage policy formulation, exploring their impact on growth and productivity, as well as the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on productivity, work patterns and economic trends. Participants also explored the role of academic institutions in supplying labor markets with skilled professionals, among other topics.
UAE labor regulations support workforce growth
In his opening remarks at the Future of Work Forum, Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratization and Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stated that the forum serves as a vital platform within the World Governments Summit framework to analyze and anticipate major shifts in global labor markets amid rapid economic transformation and technological advancements.
“The forum enables participants to exchange experiences, address challenges and explore promising opportunities to meet the future needs of labor markets,” Al Awar said.
The UAE’s business environment is experiencing remarkable growth, Al Awar noted, revealing that private sector establishments have recorded a 17 percent growth by the end of 2024, while the workforce grew by 12 percent and skilled labor by 13 percent.
These developments were facilitated by the UAE’s efforts to modernize labor regulations and create an empowering and secure work environment, he explained, citing key initiatives like the new visa programs designed to attract global talent, as well as the enhanced social protection programs, such as the Unemployment Insurance Scheme, Savings Scheme, expanded health insurance coverage to cover all categories of workers and the expansion of the Wage Protection System (WPS) to include domestic workers.
“Due to progressive labor policies and multi-stakeholder collaboration, the UAE labor market now ranks first globally in nine competitiveness indicators, including labor force participation, employment rate, talent attraction and work flexibility,” Al Awar noted.
Higher education’s role in meeting labor market needs
At the Future of Work Forum, Al Awar also highlighted the efforts of higher education institutions to bridge the skills gap and align educational output with labor market needs, which is a key priority in training and empowering generations of graduates with the knowledge and capabilities to contribute effectively to economic and social sectors.
Over the past five years, the number of accredited vocational education and training institutes in the UAE has surged by 280 percent, increasing from 16 institutions in 2019 to 61 in 2024, reflecting ongoing efforts to develop academic programs that better align with labor market demands.
The UAE also improved its global ranking from 12th in 2019 to 7th in 2023 on the Link Between the Education System and the Economy metric of the Global Talent Competitiveness Index by INSEAD, a key measure of how well education systems align with labor market needs.
The future of wages
The Future of Work Forum featured six sessions that sought to forecast the future of labor, led by decision-makers, researchers and academic experts specializing in labor market dynamics.
The first session focused on ‘Minimum Wage Legislations and Their Economic Impact.’ Organized in collaboration with the Executive Bureau of the Council of Ministers of Labour in the GCC, the session presented pioneering experiences in that regard from the UAE, Qatar, Singapore and Germany.
Meanwhile, the second session, titled ‘Economic Impacts and the Future of Wages: A View into the Labour Market’, examined the impact of wage policies on business environment competitiveness and included a dynamic analysis of the interaction between inflation and wages.
AI and labor-intensive sectors
The Future of Work Forum also hosted the third session titled ‘Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Labor-Intensive Sectors’, which explored the role of AI and advanced technologies in shaping a more innovative and agile government framework focused on customers’ needs. It also examined the future of various economic sectors amid rapid technological expansion and the growing need for businesses to adapt to these trends.
The fourth session, titled ‘The Future of Work Models and Frameworks of the Future’, featured extensive discussions on how AI is reshaping labor markets, the increasing shift towards freelancing and part-time work over traditional employment, and the role of governments in regulating these emerging sectors. The discussion also emphasized the importance of balancing economic flexibility with social protection.
The fifth session addressed ‘University Partnerships and Their Role in Building a Knowledge-Based Economy and Driving Sustainable Development’, focusing on ways to enhance education and employment outcomes, in addition to strengthening collaboration between higher education institutions and the private sector to develop academic programs and improve job opportunities for graduates. The session also discussed the importance of swift intervention from educational institutions in emerging sectors as a means to meet labor market demands.
Finally, the sixth session of the Future of Work Forum featured a dialogue focusing on labor market flexibility.
