Ajman to require English training for more than 600 employees

AJMAN // More than 600 municipal workers in Ajman will have to take English classes this year so they can better serve people. The municipality launched the mandatory English training programme yesterday with the hope that the staff will have a working knowledge of the language by the end of 2010. It comes a week after Sharjah said it would train its telephone operators to deal more efficiently and politely with the public.

Khaleed al Khaja, the director of the Ajman Municipality's human resources department, said the training would be mandatory for all staff who are not native English speakers. "We have already set a timetable that suits all our 660 employees," Mr al Khaja said. "The training team would have to assess the staff's English-language proficiency to find them a suitable level. We shall have all levels from beginners to advanced, and each level would have four months of training before it graduates to another level."

He said the municipality believed language skills were a key to delivering good services. He added that the employees themselves would stand to gain. "Foreign language skills are, increasingly, a must-have on CVs," he said. "As more organisations operate globally, being able to communicate with clients and colleagues in different countries is important." Huda al Shammari, the head of the programme's examination department, added: "Investing in staff training might not be top of the agenda for companies struggling to survive the recession, but perhaps it should be. After all, it's competent, committed staff who enable companies to secure a competitive edge."

The training is to be conducted before the start of the working day and in the evenings.  "People are realising that one way of surviving the recession is to develop existing skills and acquire new ones," said Marwan Abu Ghaith, the head of the training programme. "With unemployment rising, employers can be very selective when taking on new employees or promoting existing staff. The more relevant qualifications a person has, the greater their chances."

Many people complain they have a hard time making themselves understood or getting information when they contact their local governments. It was repeated complaints about the inefficiency and rudeness of phone operators that prompted the Sharjah Government to announce it would provide training in etiquette and languages to its staff. [e-mail]