First Gulf Bank steps up Emiratisation efforts

First Gulf Bank PJSC, (FGB), the leading financial partner of choice in the UAE, is pioneering an initiative to enhance Emiratisation efforts in the banking sector, where it recently held a meeting with a number of prominent banks in the UAE. The session shed light on key Emiratisation challenges and opportunities and will be followed up by a series of meetings pertaining to this initiative. 

The first meeting was led by Sara AlGhanem, UAE National Development Manager at First Gulf Bank and was attended by representatives from different national and International banks such as Emirates NBD, ADCB, NBAD and LIoyds Bank. 

During the meeting, attendees each presented success and challenges pertaining to their respective Emiratisation programmes in addition to holding a brainstorming session on effective solutions to increase Emirati employment within the banking sector. It also set benchmarks and measures for employing UAE nationals in different positions and divisions. 

The meeting focused on many points, including the need to enhance packages, retain the right people, provide mentors for new recruits, provide career advancement tools, conduct regular appraisals and the importance of acknowledging successes. 

FGB has developed a number of activities to work on retaining higher rates of Emirati talents. FGB’s initiatives in this matter fall in line with its commitment to promote growth for the UAE’s economic sector and to its strategy of employing talented, motivated individuals. 

“FGB is leading this initiative, where it will be organizing regular meetings with UAE national and international banks to set a platform for open, honest discussions regarding the attraction of more UAE nationals to the banking sector. These meetings fall in line with our overall people strategy, and aid in developing practical schemes to add more talented UAE nationals to our team,” Gareth Powell, Head of Human Resources at FGB, said. 

Powell added: “We aim to continue to hold these meetings in order to follow up on our progress and to continue to receive feedback on new challenges and opportunities that arise with regards to enhancing Emiratisation efforts.” 

FGB recently held a number of initiatives in support of Emiratisation goals, including partnering with the Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council to develop training programmes for young Emiratis.