Leading facilities management (FM) company Farnek has opened a new help desk and customer service centre in Fujairah as part of its strategy to support the local economy and help boost Emiratisation in the northern emirate.

The contact centre is expected to manage over 200,000 inbound and outbound calls, in its first year alone, said a statement from Farnek.

The contact centre executives will attend to their customer's needs by providing technical and general assistance before, during and after service delivery, on behalf of both Farnek and its home and property maintenance division, Hitches and Glitches.

The new facility employs more than 30 executives, of which over two thirds are local Emiratis, who were selected from over 200 applicants, after walk-in interviews were arranged in conjunction with the UAE Ministry of Human Resources.

"We have managed to attract some exceptional talent, millennial graduates who are fluent in both Arabic and English and with the help of ongoing training and evaluation, will add considerable value to our operation here," remarked Farnek CEO Markus Oberlin.

"We wanted to give opportunity to local Emiratis and in doing so, not only offer rewarding jobs and career opportunities, but also to support the local community and its economy," he noted.

"And as our business grows in the Northern Emirates, there will be further opportunities for career progression," he stated.

"Farnek has been applauded by the ministry for its positive strategy towards Emiratisation and was awarded with Platinum membership of the national employment - Tawteen Programme," he added.

The initiative was launched in December 2016 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), to encourage the employment of UAE nationals within specified occupations across the private sector.

“It can be difficult to find employment when living in relatively isolated areas on the UAE’s east coast. It is changing especially with the hospitality sector opening up, but for some the only viable alternative is commuting to Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, or even Dubai, something that their families naturally want to avoid,” added Oberlin.

The new centre in Fujairah was set up to support Farnek’s central contact centre in Dubai, which was successfully certified last year, after complying with International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 18295.-TradeArabia News Service