LONDON // Business leaders and government officials were encouraged yesterday by the success of a wide-ranging exhibition designed to help identify UAE decision-makers and high-flyers of the future.
From energy and telecommunications to banking, media and the environment, companies and public agencies reported a steady stream of well-qualified, motivated candidates.
More than 800 Emirati and foreign graduates and post-graduates were lured to London for the two-day event, an initiative of the UAE Embassy in the capital in partnership with Adnoc and BP.
Ahmed Almarzouqi, senior vice-president for talent acquisition at the Abu Dhabi Government’s investment arm, Mubadala, set himself a target of finding 25 candidates for future employment and internship opportunities
“There are about 1,000 UAE students in Britain but we are also looking at non-Emiratis from the top universities,” he said. British, French and South Africans were among those checking out the Mubadala stand.
The group employs more than 12,000 people in its worldwide operations and Mr Almarzouqi said talented, committed students could find openings in areas as diverse as engineering, information technology, research, the law and medicine.
He added that the old stereotype of the Emirati student with limited motivation to work had been transformed by remarkable levels of commitment and desire. “Since the late 1990s, there has been a completely different mindset,” he said.
“The number of graduates doubles each year, the talents have much more relevance to what is needed and the students get smarter day by day.
“They are concerned not just with what money they may earn but how they can develop as people and professionals.”
Although some exhibitors stressed the recruitment of Emiratis as their priority, the large number of foreigners attending the event, billed as the UAE-UK Pioneers Forum, confirmed the continuing attraction of living and working in the region.
Shima Hussain, 20, and her identical twin, Rima, born in the UK of Bangladeshi parents, both read Arabic and hope this will help them find careers.
The women study criminology and law at Coventry University in England’s midland region and have ambitions of entering a police service, in Britain or overseas, and working eventually as detectives.
Lea Hamdan, 20, born in Saudi Arabia of Lebanese parents and studying at University College London, had little doubt what she wanted to be doing 10 years from now: managing a major construction project.
“I’d be prepared to go anywhere in the world to follow my ambitions and would jump at the chance of starting my career in Abu Dhabi,” she said.
Zainah Al Shareef, an Emirati PhD student specialising in prostate cancer and stem cell research, said she attended the event without any clear idea of what to expect but was highly impressed by the quality of lectures.
Although her own future lies in research, probably in Abu Dhabi, she offered particular praise for presentations on becoming a leader in the UAE, future projects at Adnoc and the work of Abu Dhabi Media. “I hope it encourages people to go back to the UAE – or consider opportunities there in the case on non-Emiratis - and show what they can do,” she said.
At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, the role of media in the UAE and wider Middle East and North African region was highlighted by Noura Al Kaabi, a member of the Federal National Council and chief executive of the Abu Dhabi media zone authority, twofour54.
The theme was maintained in the final workshop of the event, presented by Abdul Hadi Al Sheikh, executive director of digital media services for Abu Dhabi Media, and Martin Newland, the company’s executive director of publishing.
Urging “UAE talent abroad to consider coming back and working in their country’s media market”, they focused on the history of the sector in the UAE, dating back to the early days of the establishment of the nation and the contributions of Sheikh Zayed, the founding President, and the 44-year legacy of Abu Dhabi Media’s own publications.
Mr Al Sheikh said: “The media scene in the UAE and the Middle East is witnessing rapid developments, with digital era taking over traditional methods.
“Despite the ever evolving media sector, Abu Dhabi Media did not only manage to preserve its legacy that is rooted in its nation flagship brands such as the Ittihad newspaper and the Abu Dhabi radio station but also developed and ventured in to up-to-date broadcast technologies that allowed wider reach to different segments of our audience.”
A visit of honour was paid to the second day of the event by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan and his brother, Sheikh Mohammed, grandsons of the President, Sheikh Khalifa. Both have studied in Britain.
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