BP recognised for highest nationalisation level in UAE

The award was presented by H.E. Ali Bin Abdallah Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Labour, during a ceremony held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre Tuesday evening at which 10 companies were recognized for their success in integrating UAE nationals into their workforce.

"Today's award marks a great success for BP's operations in Sharjah. We are particularly grateful to the Government of Sharjah and the Supreme Petroleum Council, who have continuously worked with us and supported our Emiratisation efforts since our operations started here in 1979," commented Shaikha Ahmed, HR Manager, BP Sharjah who accepted the award on behalf of BP at the ceremony.

With some 160 employees, BP Sharjah was honoured for having the highest nationalization rates among mid-sized private sector organizations in the UAE.

'The active support of the private sector is crucial as we strive to develop our national talent and continue to build upon the UAE's remarkable economic progress. BP is a clear leader in this field; the company has consistently supported our initiatives and the result is very clear in Sharjah where more than one third of the company's worksforce is made up of national staff. This award is a testimony to BP's efforts and we look forward to a continued healthy relationship in future,' commented H.E. Dr. Al Kaabi.

BP is not only making strides toward developing UAE nationals in Sharjah, but is seeing success at all its operations in the UAE. The company's nationalization rate at its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices currently stands at 14% and 9% respectively.

"BP is committed to developing the UAE's national talent, and we are very honoured to be recognized for our efforts by Tanmia," explained Abdulkarim AlMazmi, President, BP Middle East and himself a UAE national.

"For nationalization to succeed, the jobs created have to be genuine and individuals have to be hired for their talent. At BP, we encourage our staff to see working with us as a career, and not just a job, and from mentoring to training to assignments overseas, we offer structured programmes to support knowledge transfer and the continued training of nationals in the UAE and across the GCC," AlMazmi said.

BP works closely with Tanmia and other UAE bodies in support of developing the country's human resources. AlMazmi, BP's regional president, is a member of the Emirates National Development Programme (ENDP) board, and actively involved in the Dubai Future Leaders programme, a capacity building initiative for national executives and young managers. In Abu Dhabi, the company is a key supporter of the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Institute, a university dedicated to developing the next generation of specialists needed to run the UAE's, and the region's, oil industry.

The company also runs its "Challenge" graduate recruitment programme in the region. Through the three-year programme, recent university graduates receive on the job and classroom training to build their skills and competencies. BP currently has two Kuwait national challengers on assignment in Alaska and the North Sea respectively, while the most recent UAE national to complete the programme has just come back from working on a project that took him to the UK and South Korea.

The company also runs the BP Young Adventurer Program aimed at developing leadership and team building skills for GCC youth. The BPYA has successfully run for seven years and has enrolled well over 1,000 participants from across the region.