HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum

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1 The well-planned and very apparent shift from oil dependency to tourism and commerce revenues has escalated the emirates demand for qualified professionals. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EMIRATES UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

2 C H A P T E R F O R T Y H H S h e i k h A H M E D B I N S A E E D A L - M A K T O U M O U R S K I E S Nowhere has the need for quality human resources, nurtured through world-class education, been felt more than here in the UAE, notably Dubai the city of blistering growth; the city of the future. The country s explosive progress, driven by the incredible vision of its government, has changed this once sleepy fishing village to a thriving centre of commerce, business, leisure, sports and education. Look around you. Ignited by a series of multi-billion dollar investments, the country attracts both awe and disbelief. Not one, not two, but four mega man-made island projects cluster Dubai s coastline. Presently at 1,680 feet, the Burj Dubai is the world s tallest building. Glitzy, glass-encased skyscrapers housed in varied themed cities are as commonly sighted as were the pearl divers decades ago. An almost unending list of attention-grabbing projects the massive Dubailand, a leisure park bigger than Monaco; Dubai Waterfront, a development larger than Barbados have made these almost commonplace. The well-planned and very apparent shift from oil dependency to tourism and commerce revenues has escalated the emirates demand for qualified professionals. The requirement is compounded as the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 gains momentum, promising to create 882,000 new jobs and bringing total employment to 1.73 million. While a large proportion of those employed are expatriates, one must surely acknowledge the rising share of UAE nationals in the employment landscape, pushed ahead by the government s robust 377

3 2 0 : A n A n t h o l o g y Emiratisation campaign. Institutions such as the Higher Colleges of Technology have been addressing the unique educational requirements of a young, yet rapidly developing country, often partnering with business to design programmes and courses to ensure job relevance. Both as a member of the society and as a leader of an organisation, I am delighted to note that more than 20,000 graduates go through 80 different programmes in Business, Communication, Engineering Technology, Health Sciences and Information Technology, in preparation to become tomorrow s leaders. Innovative learning, a technologically sophisticated educational environment and partnerships with the corporate world are the hallmarks of this 20-year old establishment. One would surely agree with my assertion that HCT graduates have developed a reputation for their technical and communications skills and for their adaptability to workplace conditions. It is no secret that the institute s graduates are eagerly sought by organisations looking to build their workforce with young Emiratis who are capable of operating effectively in today s global environment. As HCT marches ahead in its drive to nurture world-class professionals, so does Emirates develop its people campaign to support the country s promising growth. For learning is a continuous process and people are the greatest asset of any organisation. Emirates leads in more ways than one. It leads the industry in innovation, technology, and in the development of its personnel. Its proactive approach mirrors Dubai s push to establish itself as the Middle East s centre of academic excellence. Emirates support for higher education and training in today s age of galloping globalization has seen it support numerous programs, most notably the government-backed Emirates National Development Program that calls on private companies to boost training and employment opportunities for talented young Emiratis. 378

4 H H S h e i k h A H M E D B I N S A E E D A L M A K T O U M Strong ties between Emirates and HCT have brought about rewarding employment and summer training opportunities to scores of graduates on an annual basis. Many second year Higher Diploma students are sponsored by the airline. Every year a fresh batch of students enhances their theoretical knowledge with months of on-the-job training, often rotating within the many varied departments of the Emirates Group. In an attempt to jump start their career in the booming aviation industry, over 600 Emirati trainees joined Emirates last year a direct result of the airline s National Recruitment and Development campaign, which includes among many activities, participation in the biggest ever UAE National Career Fair. Training is serious business at Emirates. Working at all levels to develop personnel, company initiatives feature cadet pilot and cabin crew training, engineering apprenticeship programs and leadership development courses for management. Comprising four fully-fledged training facilities spread over four different locations in Dubai, the Emirates Group Training department ensures 33,000 staff and third parties participate in 3000 training and development courses in one year alone! Emirates has also been quick to lever technology into its training operation. Online training is extremely successful; 25,000 employees across Emirates worldwide network underwent the equivalent of 30,000 classroom training days in the last financial year, up 32 percent from the previous year. The Emirates Aviation College, opened by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, is the first facility of its kind in the Middle East, housing state-of-the-art simulators with breakthrough visual realism. The Emirates Training College is dedicated to pilot and cabin crew training, while the Engineering Training Centre offers ab initio training to UAE nationals and type training for all engineering staff. Business Management, key to success in today s corporate jungle, is enhanced through the Emirates High Potential Program run by UK-based Cranfield University, and 379

5 2 0 : A n A n t h o l o g y through the Global Business Consortium facilitated by the London Business School. As with learning, training too is a continuous process and Emirates has no intentions of capping its investments and programs. Dubai became host to yet another best-in-the-world when the 165 million dirhams, seven-storey Emirates Crew Training Center, housing a state-of-the-art Cabin Crew Safety and Emergency Procedures Training, recently opened its doors. It should then come as no surprise when I state that throughout Emirates there is a program for creating a high performance culture. We invest in our personnel, we train them, and we encourage them to live the Emirates Values of service excellence, innovation, safety and financial strength. At the same time they benefit from the freedom to thrive and develop themselves. Such policies have led to strong retention levels. As HCT marks its 20th year anniversary, and Emirates exceeds 20 years of operations, the number of long timers staff that have completed 20 years with Emirates swells by the year. What we see in Emirates today will soon be routine, almost normal occurrence across other enterprises in Dubai and the UAE as a whole. The country is working relentlessly towards realising its larger-than-life ambition. We are already one of the fastest-growing centers in the world and are poised to become its most successful yet. Clearly there is no turning back. Higher education and training become more crucial than ever before as pressure mounts on advancing talent national and international to partake and contribute to the country s march ahead. 380