Dubai-based developer Arabtec Holding has launched a campaign to recruit 10,000 youths across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region as its order book continues to grow rapidly.

The recruitment campaign will begin in the UAE, and will be targeting “ambitious UAE youths who are eager to contribute to their country’s development”, the company said in a statement.

The campaign comes a few days after the company signed an agreement for the largest ever construction contract in the UAE. The AED22bn ($6bn) deal involves the design and build of 37 towers across Dubai and Abu Dhabi for Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments.

Arabtec said its workforce has grown to “unprecedented levels” following a series of recent contract wins, with 3,000 new recruits taken on in 2013 alone.

One of the aims of the programme will be to encourage the UAE’s Emiratisation policy. “Emiratisation has always been at the core of our corporate strategy,” said Hasan Abdullah Ismaik, managing director and CEO of Arabtec. “We perceive it as a duty, a commitment, and part of our responsibility towards this great nation.

“We have developed a fully fledged strategy geared at attracting local talent to our fast-growing business. Paramount attention is given to developing attractive packages for UAE nationals and enabling them to gain real-time experience from our international teams.”

The second phase of the campaign will include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, and will eventually expand to Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and other Arab countries where Arabtec has business.