Emirates aims to be first choice employer for UAE nationals

Today, no less than 26 per cent of top management in the group are UAE nationals with an increasing number in middle management as well as in senior positions as pilots and engineers.

Commented HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates and Dnata: "I am extremely proud that Emirates now has 152 national pilots and we have 29 ab initio pilots in training in Australia at BAE Systems Flight Training Adelaide with 58 other ab initio and cadet pilots in training in our own Training College in Dubai.

"We have been particularly successful in recruiting and training engineers and mechanics aided by our sponsored courses at the Higher Colleges of Technology and our own Training College."

Today 13 per cent of licensed engineers are UAE nationals - and Emirates has its first-ever female mechanic.

There has been an encouraging increase in nationals in the past 12 months - there are now 1,216 nationals in the Emirates Group, which is a 22 per cent increase compared to the previous year. UAE nationals now form the third-highest nationality after Indians and Pakistanis.

If the junior labour and cabin crew positions are not taken into consideration as these jobs are not attractive to UAE nationals, the percentage of nationals at all levels throughout the company would equate to 8.3 per cent.

As part of the Group's initiatives to attract and retain UAE nationals, a number of training programmes have been initiated, including the National School Leaver Programme, Certificate/Diploma Holder Training Programme, Graduate Training Programme, Diploma Graduate Training Programme, Engineering Programme and Cabin Crew Programme.

The Emirates Group has taken major organisational steps to ensure the continued recruitment and development of UAE nationals by setting up the National Recruitment and Development section to focus on activities relating to marketing, attracting, selecting, recruiting, retaining and developing nationals within the UAE community.

It comprises three main units: The National Recruitment and Selection Unit markets and sells the group as the first choice employer by being in close contact with local universities and international colleges through career fairs, school visits and open days. Recent achievements include the recruitment of more than 300 nationals in the financial year 2004-2005. The unit has also been a key participant in all major UAE National Career events.

The National Development Programme Unit is responsible for providing, through effective development activities, a foundation level of core skills to enable them to perform effectively in their first permanent role beyond the development programme. Recent achievements include winning the Dubai Human Development award 2004 in the tourism sector.

The Unit also established the Emirates Group - Trainee Award which was co-sponsored in the first year by Cheveron Texaco.

And the third element, the National Career Development Unit, which, as the name suggests, designs, implements and manages the deployment and career development of nationals.

Landmark highlights include conducting the IATA Senior Diploma in Airline Management for 36 area managers, airport service managers and licensed engineers. In association with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, the unit conducted a certification programme for 15 UAE nationals. In association with other leading training providers, it enrolled 12 UAE nationals in the London Global Business Consortium Programme, seven staff members in the Bradford MBA programme, 15 in the Cranfield and City Universities' Masters of Air Transport Programme.

Looking to the future, the Emirates Group expects that 40 per cent of senior management will consist of UAE nationals by the financial year 2007-2008 and 22 per cent of middle management.

In the Engineering department, too, the target is for 40 per cent of licensed engineers by 2007-2008 - a massive leap forward when it is considered they represented only 13 per cent of the workforce in 1999.

Said Abdulaziz Al Ali, Executive Vice President Human Resources: "We are all positively enthused by the encouragement of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed and we are determined to meet and beat the target figures he has set us of 400 to 500 nationals per year in our Five Year Plan. The Emirates Group has become a First Choice Employer and we are gratified for the quality of applicants we are receiving for our vacancies. The fact that many nationals, through their own ability, experience and qualifications, have been promoted to senior positions shows there is an exciting career path waiting for suitable young UAE nationals."