• 11 Aug 2007
  • UAE

TAQA Aims to be Role Model Company for Emiratization

TAQA Aims to be Role Model Company for EmiratizationCEO: ‘UAE Employment Talent Pool Growing Every Year’Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA PJSC) has demonstrated its firm commitment to employing an increasing percentage of UAE nationals through adopting a successful policy of recruitment and retention, a company source recently said.The Abu Dhabi-based energy group – which currently operates assets in nine countries on four continents and employs approximately 1,800 staff – revealed that special importance will be attached to reinforcing Emiratization strategies aimed at  providing appropriate job opportunities for capable UAE nationals and creating an environment where their development is a top priority .

Through the successful implementation of these strategies, the company is aspiring to become a role model company for successful Emiratization.Currently, around 20 percent of employees at TAQA’s Abu Dhabi headquarters are UAE nationals, with plans in place to increase that percentage to 30 percent by the end of 2007, and to hit 40 percent by this time next year.The UAE Government, under the leadership of The President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has laid greater emphasis on Emiratization as the way forward for its growing economy and has placed a number of initiatives in place to encourage the employment of UAE nationals in both the public and private sectors.“Emiratization is a very positive force in the country’s economy,” said Abdulla Khunji, TAQA’s Abu Dhabi-based Chief of Staff and an Emirati national.  “By encouraging nationals to reside in their own country and seek challenging work in the country’s most competitive public and private places of work, the UAE government is sending a clear message: we value your contribution to our growing economy, and we recognize you as our greatest assets.”Khunji added that the growing numbers of highly educated and qualified UAE nationals available in the market today has facilitated and accelerated the government’s Emiratization strategies.He added that it is far easier to recruit qualified UAE nationals now than it was perhaps a decade ago, when not all young nationals were encouraged to seek competitive employment, particularly in the country’s private sector.

The UAE’s 2006 real GDP growth was reported at 10.2% – the highest of any Gulf state.“Actively contributing to the full development of the UAE’s human potential is of paramount importance to TAQA’s Board of Directors and executive-level management,” said Peter Barker-Homek, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC.“As TAQA grows internationally, we envision that a substantial portion of our future management at assets across the globe will be UAE nationals.  And, with the UAE talent pool growing every year, TAQA should have no difficulty in its continuing efforts to gainfully employ educated, motivated, and committed UAE nationals at all levels, both here and abroad,” added Barker-Homek.Training and on-the-job experience is widely believed to be the most important attraction for UAE nationals of all ages seeking both public and private employment.TAQA has met this demand with a company structure that allows for the absorption of talented UAE nationals at all levels.“We have a solid job opportunity waiting for the right Emiratis,” Barker-Homek said, “because we are in a very aggressive growth phase.  And, as our current UAE national colleagues can attest, TAQA offers unending challenges and opportunities, in addition to formal training across various disciplines, from finance to engineering.”TAQA has also demonstrated a strong commitment to employment of nationals in other countries in which it operates, including: Ghana, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, India, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.In the Netherlands, for example, TAQA has appointed the company’s first Dutch national as managing director in more than 40 years.

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