GOV HR Summit to honour life, legacy of UAE’s founding father

Abu Dhabi / WAM

As the UAE celebrates 2018 as ‘Year of Zayed’ to mark 100 years since the birth of the nation’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the legacy of the beloved leader and his contributions to the UAE’s progress and development will be under the spotlight at the upcoming GOV HR Summit 2018, the biggest government and public sector event in the GCC.
Set to take place from October 23-24 at the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi, the summit will bring together public HR leaders and policy-makers from across the region to discuss critical issues such as the changing role of people management in the digital era and the need to address the mismatch between labour market requirements and the skills and expectations of young GCC nationals.
Organised by Dubai-based QnA International, the summit will be hosted this year under the theme “Because People Matter”.
The sixth edition of the annual summit comes at a critical juncture in the broader context of the talent development and workforce nationalisation programmemes being undertaken by GCC governments as part of their strategy for the future. The UAE is targeting a 40% increase in knowledge workers by 2021 while Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Programmeme aims to create 450,000 new jobs by 2020 and reduce the overall unemployment rate to 7%. The Kingdom’s stated objective is to achieve 100% nationalisation of government and public sector jobs by 2020. Kuwait also is considering implementation of a draft law to nationalise all government jobs.
A March 2018 report published by the British Council notes that developing analytical capabilities and communications and technology skills among UAE youth is key to creating a globally competitive workforce that is ready and equipped to meet the challenges of the future workplace. This holds equally true for young people in other GCC states.
All of these issues will be under the spotlight at the GOV HR Summit 2018 which will bring together public HR leaders with key policy-makers and experts to discuss changing workplace trends and explore new approaches to accelerating people development and increasing youth participation in national economic growth.
Ackash Jain, Director, QnA International, said, “Public sector HR managers realise that achieving financial success or customer service excellence is no longer enough. To empower their workforce and to make a meaningful contribution to their country’s national transformation plan, they must ensure that their strategy for human capital development is aligned with the nations’ long-term social and economic vision as well as the skills and competencies most essential in driving the nation toward a more prosperous and inclusive future.”
Jain added, “Exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices with peers and experts is key to achieving these goals, and the GOV HR Summit seeks to provide the stage for public HR stakeholders to engage in meaningful interactions on the changing world of work and explore how GCC national talent can fit in and flourish.”
Bringing together HR leaders from top government, semi-government and state-owned entities across the GCC, the GOV HR Summit will feature a series of powerful keynote presentations, panel discussions, and roundtable sessions examining pressing issues and challenges facing HR managers in GCC public sector entities.

The two-day summit will conclude with the region’s best-known and most prestigious HR awards programme, the “GCC GOV HR Awards 2018” which aims to highlight, honor and celebrate path-breaking achievements of public sector organisations and individuals who have demonstrated exemplary leadership toward driving organisational and team effectiveness through human capital management, diversity and strategic planning.