Abu Dhabi, Apr 18 (IANS/WAM): Sixty percent of private sector employees in the UAE have quit their jobs forseeing no prospects of career advancement, a new study says.

There has been a continuous increase of Emiratis working in private firms, though retention remains to be a serious issue due to lack of career progression and the absence of a mentoring culture among each others, said the study conducted by government-sponsored Emirates National Development Programme (ENDP).

Abu Dhabi University (ADU), is holding a conference 'Improving Retention by Harnessing Motivation' to discuss ways to tackle increasing attrition tendency among professionals in the country.

The two-day conference scheduled for May 30-31, is expected to throw up a deeper understanding on the key principles of employee motivation leading to securing better retention rate of Emiratis in organisations.

"The forum's theme reveals the concepts of retention and motivation, and their direct correlation to one another has been a concern for executives in today's climate," said Ali Saeed Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, Chairman of ADU.

"By developing employees to reach their goals, offering guidance or counselling and understanding their strengths and aptitudes, businesses can retain talented individuals that will prove to be long-term assets to the firm," Al Dhaheri said.