The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
DUBAI / Emirates Business
Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, finished the year with 37.6 percent Emiratisation, exceeding its 2017 target and reaching the highest level of Emiratisation at the company since its formation in 2014 through the merger of DUBAL and EMAL.
EGA is targeting 40 per cent 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 MD and CEO, 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 Mr Kalban, originally joined the business as fresh graduates. Today EGA’s workforce includes almost 1,200 UAE Nationals.
Over 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 heavy industry. In total more than 16 percent of the company’s staff working at 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.