UAE national airline Etihad Airways has reached a major Emiratisation milestone with the recruitment of its 1,000th Emirati member of staff, Noora Al Marri, into the company, said a senior official.

The airline currently employs more than 1,000 Emiratis across its seven divisions comprising 21 per cent of the airline’s core employee workforce, stated Ray Gammell, Etihad Airways chief people and performance officer.

Welcoming 23-year-old Noora, Gammell said,“Etihad Airways recognises the vital role of UAE nationals in the ongoing development and running of our business and we look forward to supporting Noora as she embarks on her career with Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national airline.”
 
Noora, an Abu Dhabi resident, had recently joined the airline’s graduate manager development program (GMDP).

She was encouraged to join the UAE’s national airline by her husband Faisal Al Naqbi, an officer cadet from batch 19 of the cadet pilot program, who joined in the beginning of 2011.

"Joining Etihad was a dream-come-true for me because it has such a fantastic reputation as an employer in the Emirati community and it was ideal as Faisal my husband was already part of the Etihad Airways team," remarked Noora.

“I am thrilled to be the 1,000th Emirati employee to join the company, and that accolade is sure to give me extra motivation over the coming weeks of the graduate management development program’s induction phase,” she noted.

Etihad has received widespread praise for its Emiratisation recruitment strategy which includes programs for graduate managers, cadet pilots, technical engineers, sales managers, guest service agents, contact centre agents, and airport operations managers.

Within the internal talent development scheme, 34 UAE nationals, who started their careers in one of Etihad’s Emiratisation programs, recently took up positions at the airline’s offices and airport destinations across the world.

These positions include sales, finance and airport manager roles in locations such as Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Morocco, Switzerland, the US, and the United Kingdom.

"Etihad is immensely proud of its Emiratisation recruitment strategy and programs which have achieved great success since being launched in 2007, with 21 per cent of our core work force being Emirati," said Gammell.

“Etihad is renowned as one of the UAE’s leading employers offering Emiratis exciting and highly productive career opportunities in the country and overseas and we look forward to building on this as the company expands further,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service