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ABU DHABI / WAM
His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (ETCC), on Tuesday honoured the winners of the second edition of Nafis Award 2023-2024, during a ceremony held at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi.
On the occasion, Sheikh Mansour thanked the award’s winners and partners for supporting the council’s objectives, stressing that the award recognises exceptional establishments that support Emiratisation, honours national talents who have succeeded in their roles in the private and banking sectors, and promotes a culture of
excellence and competition among citizens in the labour market.
He also lauded the positive competition witnessed during the award’s second edition, affirming that its primary goal is to support national talents in the private and banking sectors and encourage them to develop and grow in their professional careers. Additionally, it aims to encourage competition among private sector establishments to increase their Emiratisation rates, in line with the UAE leadership’s vision and the government’s strategic plan to support Emiratisation initiatives in the private and banking sectors, he added.
Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, highlighted the award’s importance in motivating national talents to achieve further professional success and recognising outstanding companies in the field of Emiratisation. The Nafis Award crowns the efforts of private companies that successfully embodied the leadership’s vision to increase the participation of Emirati talent in the private sector across various fields and professional specialities, therefore, enhancing their contributions to sustainable economic development, he added. For his part, Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), affirmed that the bank prioritises achieving Emiratisation and empowering citizens in the financial sector through integrated strategies and a sustainable Emiratisation system to create 5,000 job opportunities for citizens in vital and specialist positions across 22 educational pathways and 30 percent in leadership roles by 2026. Furthermore, CBUAE aims to launch unique initiatives and programmes to expand the base of citizens working in the financial sector, including the “Ithraa” programme for Emiratisation in the banking, financial, and insurance sectors, which achieved exceptional results in its first year by exceeding its target for 2023, with the percentage of Emirati citizens in key positions in banks rising to 31 percent, and in the insurance sector to 23 percent, he further said.
Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary-General of the ETCC, said the award’s second edition also witnessed a 98 percent increase in the number of self-nomination applications for the individual category compared to the first edition, which has helped to achieve the council’s goals of developing the skills of citizens working in this vital sector and encouraging them to continue their outstanding efforts, which in turn builds a culture of excellence and improves the performance of establishments. The award provides an opportunity for citizens working in the private and banking sectors to participate and celebrate their efforts and professional excellence, he added. During the ceremony, the ETCC announced the names of the winners of the award’s individual categories. In ten subcategories, 30 UAE citizens working in the private and banking sectors won the top three positions.
The ETCC also announced the names of winning establishments from 14 sectors registered under the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and the Central Bank of the UAE. The ceremony was attended by several ministers, senior officials, business leaders, and public figures. The awards recognised the achievements of winners in both the individual and establishment categories for 2023, and honoured several establishments that made exceptional efforts to support Emiratisation, alongside the partners of the ETCC.