CW+ Premium Content/CW Middle East

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched a programme to add 100,000 coders to its workforce over the next five years, in a bid to keep pace with the digital transformation of the global economy. The National Program for Coders, as the initiative is known, will offer “golden visas” to 100,000 entrepreneurs, owners of enterprises and startups specialised in coding. With traditionally oil-reliant countries in the Middle East diversifying their economies, tech has been identified as an opportunity, but there is a shortage of people with the right tech skills and experience. The programme, which has been established in collaboration with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, LinkedIn, Nvidia and Facebook, also wants to create 1,000 digital companies in the UAE. Sultan Al Olama, UAE minister of state for artificial intelligence, digital economy and remote work applications, said providing the opportunity for coders to obtain a golden visa aims to attract top international skillsets and talents in coding...