The Rising Prominence of Al Ain in the UAE’s Manpower Landscape

With demands surging by 20%, Waqar Mohamed, Director - Dulsco People – Part of Dulsco Group, highlights how workforce shortages, mechanisation and evolving operational needs are reshaping the UAE’s fourth-largest city and creating new challenges for employers.

OPINION PIECE

ME-HR & Learning

7/24/20263 min read

Al Ain is recognised as one of the UAE’s most important agricultural and industrial centres, but during the past two years, we have witnessed a significant shift in the scale and complexity of manpower requirements for the city. From food and agriculture to logistics and industrial operations, the demand for outsourced manpower from businesses in Al Ain is accelerating at a pace that reflects the fourth largest city in the UAE’s broader economic ambitions.

Between 2024 and 2025 alone, our manpower requirements in Al Ain increased by approximately 20% year on year, with projections indicating a compound annual growth trajectory of around 15% in the years ahead – growth which is driven by a combination of agricultural and aerospace expansion, increasing mechanisation, infrastructure development and the rise of integrated logistics operations serving both Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE market.

However, while demand continues to grow, sourcing and retaining manpower in Al Ain does present a unique set of challenges. Unlike larger metropolitan centres which are more well-known such as Abu Dhabi or Dubai, Al Ain is not traditionally viewed as a primary destination for workers seeking a dynamic urban lifestyle. As a result, one of the biggest challenges employers can face is attracting employees willing to relocate and remain in the area long term.

Nowhere is this manpower evolution more visible than in the food and agriculture sector. Date farming, a cornerstone of the nation and Al Ain’s agricultural identity, has seen a substantial increase in seasonal labour demand so that during peak harvest seasons in 2025, operations required more than 300 outsourced workers, and we expect this figure to exceed 400 personnel by 2026 as production scales further.

In these environments, outsourcing remains essential for operational flexibility, particularly with specific roles like pickers, packers, loaders, and equipment operators. These roles, when outsourced, to enable farms to rapidly scale manpower during peak harvesting periods without maintaining oversized permanent workforces throughout the year.

At the same time, the agricultural sector itself is undergoing transformation, with poultry and dairy farms are increasingly moving away from traditional labour-intensive operations toward greater mechanisation and future-focused vertical farming models. While automation is gradually changing the workforce composition, manpower remains critical; across many dairy and farming operations today, the balance still sits at roughly 40% machinery to 60% manpower, with the strongest demand concentrated around packers and loaders who support processing and distribution activities.

This trend highlights an important reality, that automation does not eliminate manpower needs, it reshapes them. As industries modernise, there is growing demand for workers who can operate alongside advanced machinery while ensuring operational continuity during periods of high production.

Beyond agriculture, industrial sectors in Al Ain are also experiencing increased reliance on outsourced manpower. Feed stock operations, cement facilities and dry port logistics hubs collectively engaged up to 100 outsourced personnel between 2024 and 2025 to support plant and logistics operations.

The most manpower-dependent activities remain those tied to movement and intermodal logistics including transhipment activities, train-to-container terminal transfers, storage yard operations and associated loading and unloading functions continue to require a highly flexible external workforce. Drivers, equipment operators and loaders play a critical role in ensuring supply chain efficiency across these operations.

What we are seeing today in Al Ain is more than simple workforce growth, it is the emergence of a more diversified operational economy that requires adaptable workforce solutions. As industries continue to evolve, personnel providers must also evolve alongside them by improving workforce mobility, investing in skills development and creating better infrastructure and entertainment options during employee downtime that makes Al Ain a more attractive location.

Al Ain’s future growth will depend not only on infrastructure and investment, but also on the people who keep these industries moving every day. Ensuring sustainable workforce availability will therefore remain one of the most important priorities for businesses operating across the city in the years ahead.

Waqar’s profile

linkedin.com/in/waqarmohamed