Emirates NBD celebrates 10 years of PAL Nationalisation Development Programme

3 Min | 17 February 2015

PAL programme is central to the bank's talent development strategy

PAL programme is central to the bank's talent development strategy
The high-intense training programme has graduated over 500 talented young Emirati Nationals in ten years
Bank steps up Nationalisation efforts by participating in Sharjah National Career Exhibition 2015

Dubai, February 17, 2015: Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, celebrates 10-year completion of its Programme for Accelerated Learning (PAL), an initiative that is central to bank's talent development strategy. The PAL programme, which reflects the bank's strong commitment to nurturing young Emirati talent, provides world-class training to college graduates who aspire a career in the high growth banking sector.

PAL is a 6-month intense training programme aimed at personal and professional development of young UAE Nationals, offering training modules covering a range of areas including, complex banking systems, presentation skills, delegation skills, motivation theories, and coaching and counseling, among others. The training also involves on the job training, equipping PAL trainees to gain banking experience whilst preparing them for a variety of Assistant Manager or Officer roles within the bank.

Commenting on the success of the programme, Husam Al Sayed, General Manager of Group Human Resources, Emirates NBD, said: "Emirates NBD has been a strong advocate of UAE leadership's vision of Emiratisation, and the completion of a decade long successful talent development programme is a significant milestone for the bank. Our PAL programme reflects our commitment not only to hire talented UAE Nationals, but also empowering them to take up complex job roles in the banking sector."

The most recent batch of PAL programme celebrated the graduation of 45 UAE Nationals who took up critical jobs in the bank across different business units, including Retail Banking, IT, Finance, Wholesale Banking, Treasury, among others.

"As we continue to implement our talent development strategy, we are delighted to see another batch of qualified and young UAE Nationals who accomplished the PAL programme. At Emirates NBD, we are confident that these talented individuals will play a major role in achieving the bank's long-term ambitions as well as the wider financial services sector in the region," added Al Sayed.

Since the launch of PAL programme in 2005, the initiative has gone from strength to strength, and as of December 2014, bank has graduated over 500 high caliber young Emirati Nationals, providing them with opportunities to take up critical job roles in different areas of the bank.

To further support the Nationalisation efforts, Emirates NBD also provides a variety of training and mentoring programmes under its Al Misha'al programme, which is targeted at High School graduates. The programme inducts high school graduates into the bank following three months of rigorous training in various job-related subjects such as banking operations, branch automation, and customer service, among others. To date, the total number of UAE National staff trained under the programme reached 4,000.

As part of its strategy to step up Nationalisation efforts, Emirates NBD recently participated in the 2015 Sharjah National Career Exhibition that was held under the patronage of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al Qassimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. At the exhibition, the bank received over 400 applications from UAE Nationals who are willing to join the Emirates NBD workforce, reflecting a positive demand and a keen interest from young Emiratis to establish a career in the banking industry.

The applications received at the Career Fair were for various educational and training programmes that are offered by Emirates NBD, including 60 for PAL programme, and 130 for the Al Misha'al programme. Furthermore, the bank received over 200 applications from talented UAE Nationals with extensive experience in the regional banking sector.

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