DUBAI – Accenture and Smart Labour are collaborating to help blue-collar workers gain new skills for the digital economy.

Under the terms of the agreement, Accenture will offer its expertise to help Smart Labour — a Dubai-based organization that helps laborers develop skills for long-term, sustainable careers — train a wider group of blue-collar workers. Accenture will also develop a roadmap that is aligned with Smart Labour’s overall mission and help the organization streamline its operations in the UAE and the Gulf region.

The collaboration, among the first social innovation projects in the Middle East, is part of Skills to Succeed — Accenture’s global corporate citizenship initiative that helps equip people around the world with job skills for the digital ageSmart Labour’s connection to and understanding of the blue-collar workforce provides the ideal platform for Accenture to support this initiative. The collaboration supports the efforts of the public and private sectors to build a skilled workforce while incentivizing workers with rewards to encourage self-development and training. The mobile application includes telecom and food vouchers to encourage blue-collar workers to complete life awareness exercises about happiness and positivity, health and safety, policies and procedures, and Emirati culture, as well as to take English and Arabic language courses. The agreement also demonstrates Accenture’s commitment to the UAE Vision 2021, which aims to transform the nation into a knowledge-based economy.

Joining forces with Smart Labour to provide blue-collar workers with self-development opportunities will not only enable these workers — who make up a significant part of the UAE’s population — to improve their quality of life but will also have a positive long-term impact on the nation’s economy,” said Alexis Lecanuet, Accenture’s regional managing director in the Middle East and Turkey. “Our collaboration supports the goals of governments across the GCC region, which have rolled out various initiatives to strengthen the skills of their workforces, as well as the mission of Expo 2020 Dubai to impart a legacy of improved worker welfare.”

Abu Muadh, the founder of Smart Labour, said “our purpose is to enrich the lives of blue-collar workers in the GCC through practical digital solutions and community engagement. We are happy to be working with Accenture to strengthen our growing impact and ensure that digital transformation and connectivity includes all workers. We want Smart Labour to be an example of ground-up innovation from the UAE that improves the lives of all blue-collar workers and expand this spirit to the GCC. Something like this has never been done before in the region, and Accenture is our catalyst in becoming a leading platform in this sector.”

Smart Labour, an Expo Live grant recipient, was introduced to Accenture through Expo 2020 Dubai and its social impact grant program. Recognized across the UAE for its innovation, Smart Labour was accepted into the Mohammad Bin Rashid Innovation Fund’s first accelerator cohort and named the Best Innovative Strategic Partner by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in 2018.

The aim of Expo Live’s Innovation Impact Grant Programme is to demonstrate that innovation — and its power to transform lives for the better — can come from anywhere, to everyone,” said Yousuf Caires, senior vice president – Expo Live at Expo 2020 Dubai.“We’re proud that Accenture, one of our Premier Partners, is joining hands with Smart Labour to help people develop the skills that will enable them to maximize their potential. This is a great example of the inspiring impact that Expo 2020 Dubai will have.” — SG