The Emirates Group has been honoured at the GCC GOV HR Awards 2020 as this year’s winner of the ‘Best Nationalization Initiative in the Private Sector’ award. The awards were presented in conjunction with the eighth annual GOV HR Summit and highlighted the outstanding contributions and achievements of public and private organisations as well as individuals who have raised the people strategy benchmark in the region.

The award recognises Emirates Group’s efforts and focus in expanding the range of internal and external learning and development programmes for UAE Nationals. Under its National Development strategy “Rehlaty”, these programmes aim to support the Group’s capability-building agenda through the acquisition of new competencies to navigate today’s increasingly complex business environment.

From industry-specific knowledge to business and leadership skills; coaching and mentoring to peer support, bespoke development opportunities have been co-created by leveraging the Emirates Group’s strong business relationships with world-class industry players such as Airbus, DHL, GE, Marriott, PWC, Rolls-Royce, and through partnerships with globally-recognised academic organisations such as the Emirates Diplomatic Academy, London Business School, The Protocol School of Washington, and Warwick University.

In addition to offering UAE Nationals diverse and global experiences, many of these programmes also generate and deliver organisational projects that deliver business impact – from projects that focus on improving customer experience or work process efficiency, to business cases for new revenue streams.

Since 2019, over 300 UAE national employees have participated in the Group’s development programmes, nearly 20% of whom later moving to different or more senior roles within the organisation.

Illustrating how the company continues to strengthen its Emirati talent bench, of those who graduated from training programmes in 2020, six were given a Postgraduate Award with a distinction from Warwick Business School and 14 were given a Postgraduate Award with Merit.

Aviation is a strategic enabler for economies especially in the UAE. Alongside specialised aviation skills like engineers, pilots, and flight safety experts, the Emirates Group offers a huge variety of job roles from doctors and cybersecurity specialists, to more corporate roles in Marketing, Finance, and Legal for instance.

Despite current challenges due to the pandemic, the Group is committed to developing local UAE talent, which is a key component of the UAE’s Vision 2021, and to continue contributing to the success of the global aviation and tourism industries.

The Emirates Group’s Rehalty strategy looks to spread a learning culture, identify and nurture top talent, support performance improvements, and retain talent. The company aims to provide a comprehensive support infrastructure for its Emirati employees at every step of their career path.

The Emirates Group is one of the biggest travel and aviation companies in the world, with operations spanning six continents. Its multi-national workforce representing talented people from more than 100 nations includes over 3,000 UAE nationals.