Dubal, Tanmia host second joint Career Open Day

Dubai Aluminium Company Limited ("Dubal") joined forces with Tanmia - the National Human Resource Development & Employment Authority - for a one-day "Career Open Day" for aspirant job-seekers.

The event, which took place at Dubal's Jebel Ali site on 18 June 2009, involved 50 individuals taking advantage of the opportunity to undergo skills evaluation in the hopes of meeting the qualification criteria required for the aluminium smelter's development programmes.

After viewing the Dubal corporate film and listening to a presentation, the aspirant applicants completed English assessments. An opportunity was also provided for the young adults to have their questions answered by Dubal personnel, thereby ensuring that their expectations and perceptions were well-managed.

Dubal's Marwan Al Sawaleh (General Manager: HR) says that the applicants will be considered for the September 2009 intake for two of the company's accredited national skills development and training initiative, both of which combine theoretical study with practical on-the-job experience.

They are:

- Pre-Employment Course: Smelter Programme - A six-month training programme, with two intakes a year (March and September) of up to 25 participants in each. Trainees who complete the programme successfully are offered employment by Dubal as full-time Utility Operators and are allocated to a specific smelter operation area.
- Pre-Employment Course: Craft Programme - A four-year programme for UAE National school-leavers with a new intake once a year (September). Technical knowledge and skills training is provided to trainees in electrical, mechanical or instrumentation maintenance, empowering them with internationally recognised standards of competence. It also creates a foundation for further development of UAE National trainees in technical subjects, for employment in the plant and even further education at a later date. On successful completion of the programme, course graduates are offered employment as full-time Junior Maintenance Technicians in their respective disciplines.

Dubal will contact successful candidates once the assessment results are available, to arrange for interviews and a conducted tour of the plant. This will give job-seekers a clear idea of what the programmes and the actual jobs entail, before making a final decision.

Al Sawaleh adds that the Dubal/Tanmia Career Open Day is further evidence of Dubal's ongoing commitment to nationalization, succession planning as well as the company's quest to remain the employer of choice in Dubai.

"We offer PEC programmes in various disciplines; as well as a graduate training programme; a work placement programme; and an accelerated development programme,"

he says.

"As a result, the overall of UAE Nationals employed by the company is currently 24 per cent, with senior management level being above 70 per cent. These levels compare extremely favourably against Dubai's average Emiratisation level of 4 per cent."