Emirates Group and GE Aviation Kick off Leadership Development Programme

The Emirates Group and GE Aviation have officially kicked off GE's Leadership Development Programme for 28 UAE National employees at the Emirates Group. The commencement of the programme follows on from the MOU signed between both organisations at the Dubai Airshow 2019, and since then qualifying Emirati employees have gone through a rigorous selection process to identify the first participating cohort.

The GE Aviation Leadership Development Programme combines formal leadership training as well as action-based learning. The overall programme design and content aims to develop reflective leaders who are agile, resilient and dedicated to deliver impactful outcomes. This customized program has been built upon the GE leadership curriculum and is structured in modules, delivered in Dubai and globally.

Through sessions dedicated to personal as well as team leadership, the participants will improve their self-awareness and their interpersonal skills and grow their leadership capabilities. Participants will learn about best practices to promote the culture of sustained change, growth and innovation and apply them in an actual business project. Throughout the programme, participants will get the opportunity to meet and interact with GE Aviation senior leaders and learn about leadership, management and trends in the aviation industry.

Amira Al Falasi, Emirates' Vice President, HR Talent Acquisition and National Talent Development and Aziz Koleilat, GE Aviation Vice President of Sales & Marketing, MENAT Region, officially welcomed the participants and helped kick off the programme.

Amira Al Falasi set the first session in motion, underlining the strategy that helped to launch this partnership: "We are proud of our UAE National workforce and our core strategy is to nurture our future talent and ensure we have a strong Emirati employee base that is reflective of where we are going as an organisation. We look forward to tapping into GE's expertise and giving our Emirati employees the opportunity to gain the management and leadership know-how to scale the next level of their careers."

Aziz Koleilat said: "GE Aviation is committed to partnering with Emirates to develop in-region talent and advance the local aviation industry. Based on GE's world-recognized leadership curriculum, GE Aviation and The Emirates Group can together prepare the UAE's future business leaders for an ever-changing and innovative environment."

The Emirates Group employees around 3,000 UAE Nationals in a variety of roles across the company. Its Emiratisation strategy, Rehlaty, aims to recruit and retain UAE Nationals by offering a range of career opportunities and growth programmes like the GE Aviation Leadership and Development programme, as well as opportunities such as lateral moves to provide them with a myriad of cross-functional experiences to ensure they grow within their careers at Emirates. Rehlaty also provides a framework and outlines career progression for UAE Nationals.

GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE, is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components, integrated digital, avionics, electrical power and mechanical systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings and is part of the world's Digital Industrial Company with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive.