Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, today (January 20) announced the company recruited more than 100 UAE nationals in 2021. The average age of the recruits was 24 years old.

 

Almost 1,200 UAE nationals now work at EGA. Over 700 of EGA’s Emirati employees are under the age of 35, the company said in a statement.

 

At the end of 2021, EGA’s in-focus Emiratisation rate was around 40 per cent. When considering the high number of blue-collar positions in heavy industry, EGA has one of the highest Emiratisation rates of any major company.

 

Almost 40 per cent of those holding the top 280 positions at EGA are UAE Nationals, it said. 

 

Abdulnasser bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “We are delighted to have welcomed over 100 UAE Nationals in 2021, the vast majority young people at the start of their careers whom we hope to develop and retain for decades to come. EGA has focused on Emiratisation for more than 40 years, building our talent pipeline for the future and contributing to the development of the UAE’s economy.” 

 

In 2021, EGA successfully recruited 18 UAE nationals to its graduate programme. Graduates receive 18 or 24 months of training to equip them with the tools needed to take on a permanent leading position at EGA. 

 

Some 73 UAE nationals were recruited in 2021 to EGA’s two-year National Training programmes. The 73 trainees are involved in separate training programmes, ranging from 6 to 36 months, which prepare young Emiratis for technical roles in the company’s smelters and power plants. The National Training Smelter programme was developed in collaboration with and sponsored by the Human Resources Authority – Abu Dhabi. More than 5,000 UAE nationals have graduated from EGA’s National Training programmes since their establishment in 1982. 

 

Some 17 UAE nationals joined EGA as experienced hires in 2021.

 

Additionally, under the ‘Train for Work’ programme Cohort 2, funded by and in collaboration with Mubadala Investment Company, EGA committed to train and develop 40 further UAE nationals. Trainees will be given the opportunity to join EGA upon successful completion of the two-year programme. 

 

The company also said that its recruitment and development processes prioritise the advancement of women. Two members of EGA’s Executive Committee are women and EGA employs more than 400 women around the world. 21 per cent of EGA’s Emirati employees are female. EGA is focused on female recruitment, retention, and succession planning, and has set a target to increase the proportion of women in supervisory positions across the company in the UAE to 25 per cent by 2025, it added.--TradeArabia News Service