Al-Futtaim Group recently launched a second run of its management training programme for UAE nationals, maintaining its commitment to employ young Emirati professionals in leadership.

The programme aims to recruit, train and retain university graduates from various fields of expertise to take on management roles within Al-Futtaim Group businesses.

The second batch of trainees started their training on April 1, a statement from Al-Futtaim said.

Omar Al-Futtaim, vice chairman of the group, launched the event during which Zuhair Al Haj, head of HR administration and localisation demonstrated its vision to invest in local talent and provide them with the means necessary for them to excel at work.

The sixteen trainees were selected after a rigorous assessment and interviewing process. They will undergo a 19-month long training programme that includes on-the-job training, technical and interpersonal skills training, strategic thinking, and business acumen that will allow them to succeed as future managers within the various businesses run by AFG.

This is the second time that this programme is launched, the first being in June 2011, in which 19 university graduates embarked on intensive job training in various placements as well as working on individual and group projects.

The management trainees are all graduates from top UAE universities and colleges, the statement said.

The company has managed to retain 100 per cent of its trainees, with the designer of the programme Emma Walker stating that this is due to “Omar Al-Futtaim’s passion and dedication to developing the UAE’s future leaders and the fact that we select graduates with ‘drive’.”  – TradeArabia News Service