Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, finished the year 2017 with 37.6 percent Emiratisation, exceeding its target for the year and reaching the highest level of Emiratisation in the company since its formation in 2014 through the merger of Dubal and Emal.

 

EGA is targeting 40 percent Emiratisation of in-focus positions, or those that can feasibly be Emiratised, by 2020. When normalised for the high number of blue-collar positions in heavy industry, EGA already has one of the highest rates of Emiratisation of any major company.

 

The company’s target for Emiratisation in 2017 was 37 percent. 

 

Abdulla Kalban, EGA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said: “EGA’s performance and growth is driven by our people, including our local talent. We focus on attracting the most capable people and providing them with opportunities to develop themselves throughout their careers. In line with 'UAE Vision 2021' we aim to harness the full potential of the UAE's human capital.” 

 

EGA has focused on developing its people for decades. Seven members of EGA’s Executive Committee, including Kalban, originally joined the business as fresh graduates. Today EGA’s workforce includes almost 1,200 UAE nationals. 

 

More than 40 percent of those holding the top 280 positions in the company as well as more than a third of the over 1,800 people in EGA’s supervisory positions and above are UAE nationals.

 

EGA is also pioneering the role of UAE national women in the heavy industry. In total more than 16 percent of the company’s staff working at the supervisory level and above are female. 

 

As a company operating in a heavy industry, EGA is a particularly significant employer of professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related disciplines. EGA employs more than 1,500 professionals in these fields, including some 500 UAE nationals. 

 

EGA provides management training and qualifications accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management, a part of City and Guilds, the global accrediting body for vocational training. This means that EGA can issue vocational qualifications that are globally recognised. Around 2,500 staff attend management training courses each year, from graduates to executive leaders.

 

EGA’s technical training programmes are also recognised and accredited, by the local accrediting body the Knowledge and Human Development Authority. 

 

EGA has more than 100 graduate trainees enrolled in its 18-month graduate training programmes at any time. These trainees then go on to occupy permanent roles in the organisation, the company said. - TradeArabia News Service