The region’s top human resource professionals were recognised at the Middle East HR Excellence Awards ceremony held in Dubai yesterday (October 9).

Contested among 18 finalists in nine categories, the winners were announced at the Ritz Carlton DIFC, with Etihad Airways taking the top price for the ‘Best Leadership Programme’ and the ‘Best Learning and Development Programme.’

The awards were presented by Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Federal Authority of Human Resources.

Other standout winners included the Abu Dhabi Police who won the ‘Achievement in Government HR’ accolade; and Dubai Airports, which came out on top ahead of Mahindra Middle East and the evening’s host, the Ritz-Carlton DIFC, to win the ‘Employer of the Year’ award.

The awards was a feature of the 10th HR Summit and Expo which concluded on October 9 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Qatar’s Commercial Bank of Doha won the ‘HR Initiative of the Year’ award, while the ‘Best Recruitment Programme’ award went to the National Bank of Oman, and the ‘Nationalisation Initiative of the Year’was awarded to Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group.

Individuals honoured included  Aliya Mohammed Al-Aufi of Takatuf Oman Oil Companies and Sharoq Al Malki of Qatar Museums Authority, who jointly were named the ‘Young HR Professional of the Year,’ and Masdar’s Maha Al Mansouri won the ‘HR Professional of the Year’ award.

Ramy Bayyour, show director, said: “This is the annual setting for the industry to honour professionals for their outstanding contributions to HR best practice and in creating a high performing workforce for the future.

“The quality of entries for this year’s awards has certainly raised the bar in terms of how individuals, departments, teams and organisations have contributed to the growth and development of the Middle East HR industry.” - TradeArabia News Service