Careers Festival Day at EIBFS draws hundreds of UAE nationals

Dubai - The Careers Festival saw the participation of 80 financial companies that included banks, insurance companies and money exchanges, and led to one of the largest turnouts of UAE nationals at a job fair.

The Dubai campus of the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), the chosen venue for the Careers Festival Day, drew an estimated 800 UAE nationals for various positions on offer by financial companies in the UAE. All UAE nationals who attended the two-day festival were successfully registered in the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization database.
Organized by the Ministry and the recently launched Government Accelerators, EIBFS supported the festival as a strategic partner. The Careers Festival saw the participation of 80 financial companies that included banks, insurance companies and money exchanges, and led to one of the largest turnouts of UAE nationals at a job fair. With hundreds of offers made at the Careers Festival, the deep commitment of the Government Accelerators and the Ministry along with EIBFS to hire 1,000 UAE nationals within 75 days in the banking and financial sector, seem well on the way to being fully realized.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced that Emiratization would be a key focus for Government Accelerators - a collaboration of public and private sectors and academia. The initiative, launched in November 2016, is the first of its kind in the world.
Speaking about the impressive turnout of UAE nationals and companies at the Careers Festival, Jamal Al Jassmi, General Manager, EIBFS, said: "As part of one of the most important links in the collaboration, EIBFS, representing academia, is pleased to have hosted this significant event at our Dubai Campus in our role as a strategic partner. Today, the financial sector is the second largest contributor in the country, in creating jobs for UAE nationals. As the leading institute for banking and financial training in the region, we will continue to build and leverage partnerships in public and private sectors, to ensure the provision of qualified teams, capable of driving growth in the sector as a whole."
He added: "We also remain committed to offering the best training and rehabilitation programs in the banking and financial sector, in collaboration with our partners, including banks and insurance companies. Our goal is to help build a sustainable and resilient financial sector, which is capable of facing challenges that might arise on a global and regional level."
Speaking on his part, Ahmed Jassim Zaabi, Head of Government Accelerators Team, said: "The financial sector continues to grow and play a significant role in supporting the development process of UAE nationals. By gathering all participating organizations from the sector under one roof, we are confident that the Careers Festival Day is the right way to achieve our Emiratization and development of human capital targets."
He added: "Events such as this give citizens who want to work in this sector a chance. Each employee that has been successfully selected will have to attend a training program launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization, as well as the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies. Today the number of participating institutes in the Government Accelerator's Emiratization objectives reaches more than 80 companies, spread over vital financial sectors such as banking, insurance and financial services integration."
Speaking at the event, Suhaila Al Jasmi, Head of Training and Skills Development, The National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah, stated: "Supporting the government's Emiratization initiative is very important for us, and we recently reached an Emiratization rate of 38%. The bank's participation in this festival has helped us to employ 20 talented nationals in various departments. However, we are dependent on training programs from institutions such as EIBFS, for our new employees, so that each employee can achieve the necessary expertise."
Kathim Jawad, Head of Human Resources at the leading money exchange and remittance house Al Fardan Group, said: "Our presence at the Careers Festival Day expresses our support for the directives of his Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, around the challenge of Emiratization, which was announced by His Highness at the launch of the Government Accelerators. Al Fardan Group recently reached an Emiratization rate of 11%, and we currently have supervisory and managerial positions that are open to anyone who is capable. Through our participation in the festival we have already hired 17 people and we are ready to hire more."
Juma Salem Al-Khatiri, Regional Director of Public Relations, Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company, said: "We are pleased to extend our support to projects and programs that support the government's nationalization objectives in public and private companies. Our company's Emiratization rate has reached 16%, and our management aspires to continue participating in similar events, to ensure that we continuously increase this percentage."
At the end of the event, Jamal Al Jassmi mentioned that EIBFS would collaborate with the Governmental Accelerators, to assess the extent of the event's success in achieving its objectives after the event, and would prepare a report and submit it to supreme authorities to study and further develop similar future initiatives.

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