NBAD launches banking and financial academy

Strategically located in Abu Dhabi as well as Northern Emirates, the state-of-the-art academy aims to deliver best training programs in banking and finance across the region.

To meet this objective, NBAD Academy has forged strategic partnerships with leading international institutes and educational establishments to deliver world class programs. The setup of NBAD Academy, on par with the international standards, will help in achieving its aim to be a hub of banking excellence in the UAE.

The Academy supports the development of capabilities that support the bank to achieve longer term business strategies as well as individual career aspirations. It will deliver world-class development programs including personal effectiveness, executive and leadership development as well Professional & Technical development. Programs will also be delivered internationally to ensure that opportunities to learn are available across the NBAD family.

Mr. Ehab Anis Hassan, NBAD's Group Chief Human Resources Officer, said:

"We are delighted to launch NBAD Academy officially today, which comes as a confirmation of NBAD's commitment to develop the skills of its talents and maximize their potential to ensure that best products and services are delivered by the best banking professionals to our esteemed customers."

"Continuous learning and development is one of the core values of NBAD's corporate culture since it enables the staff to contribute effectively to developing innovative, efficient and secure products & services to allow our customers enjoy the most convenient banking experience. Pursuing this approach has confirmed our leading position as employer of choice and made NBAD an award winning leader in the UAE and the Middle East financial services industry," he added.

"NBAD's success story mirrors the UAE growth; over the past four decades, the bank has managed to be ahead of economic and social developments enabling UAE to be considered one of the top emerging economies within a very short period of time," he stated.

NBAD is now a top 250 bank in the world and one of the largest banks in the Middle East. It currently operates across eleven countries on four continents. It has a wide range of products and services. The bank employs more than 4000 employees of more than 50 nationalities, with many multi talented, highly gifted and qualified people. Proudly, we are serving over 300,000 customers around the world," NBAD's Group Chief Human Resources Officer explained.

"Launching NBAD Academy is a step further in this long march of achievements as it aims to be a hub of learning and technical excellence for all our employees across the globe as well as a centre to qualify future leaders," he confirmed.

"Investing in career development will ultimately support the achievement of our business strategies through staff commitment and engagement, increased retention rates, and the enhancement our intellectual assets. The Academy's curriculum aims to support the achievement of business goals," said Ms. Paula McManus, Head of Learning & Development at NBAD. "In the first year, the Academy training calendar includes over 30 programs which have been scheduled based on business needs."

"Since Emiratisation is one of our primary objectives, NBAD's Academy has a number of learning initiatives for UAE nationals including AFAQ management trainee program to recruit and develop the best qualified UAE nationals to become leading professionals in the banking and finance industry. The program targets recent university graduates to prepare them for management and executive positions," NBAD's Head of Learning & Development explained.

"AFAQ, which means horizons in Arabic, is the first-of-its-kind in-house training program where we rotate the trainees through both classroom and on-the-job training, and the opportunity to achieve an internationally recognized professional diploma in banking and finance. We are on track to have 120 AFAQ recruits by the end of the year," she added.

"This initiative further confirms our leading position as employer of choice in the UAE. NBAD runs successful recruiting and internship programs targeting best UAE graduates. NBAD's sponsorship and internship programs are now benefiting more than 190 students from top UAE universities," said Ms. Ruwaida Saeed Shahbal, Head of Recruitment & Operations - Human Resources Group at NBAD.

"In the first nine months of this year, NBAD has recruited 247 UAE nationals, thereby increasing UAE nationals' number to 888, which comprises of 32% of the Bank's total workforce in the UAE," she added.

"Our mission on Emiratisation is to develop well qualified UAE Nationals with the right tools and technical knowledge in banking and finance by offering long term training, recruiting them into suitable and challenging positions and thus producing promising citizens for the welfare and development of the Country," Ms. Ruwaida Shahbal concluded.