Aluminium giant supports high academic achievers, offers rewarding career opportunities.
Widely regarded as the industrial flagship of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (“DUBAL”) currently ranks as the largest modern primary aluminium smelter with a captive power plant. The company is an avid supporter of the UAE’s Nationalization Strategy, which aims to increase the employment levels and professionalism of the Emirati people in the public and private sectors, and does so by way of dedicated National Development Programmes.
Building the bench
Among these is the DUBAL Scholarship Programme, through which the company invests in the tertiary education of UAE Nationals to enable them to hold supervisory roles upon graduation. Preference is given to students studying the degree courses required for targeted positions within the company’s overall smelter operations. Accordingly, preference is given to students studying engineering – particularly Chemical, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering. Scholarship opportunities are also provided to some students in Civil, Industrial, Electronics or Mechatronic Engineering; and in business-related disciplines such as Business Administration, Human Resources, Finance, Law, Marketing, International Studies, Environmental Sciences, Business Management and Information Technology. An aggregate score of at least 85 per cent in high school academic evaluations is required, along with a positive attitude to life and evident personal commitment to self-development and career ambitions.
“Our Scholarship Programme currently provides benefits to 56 students enrolled at eight preferred local universities, notably American University of Sharjah (“AUS”), UAE University Al Ain, Sharjah University, Higher College of Technology (“HCT”) Dubai, Zayed University, American University of Dubai (“AUD”), Middlesex University and North-Eastern University,” says Ibrahim Nassir (Executive Vice President, Director: Human Resources, Organisational Effectiveness & Corporate Services). “Each of our scholarship students receives 50 per cent of his/her tuition fees; and a monthly stipend, paid on a sliding scale, whereby senior students receive substantially more than their first-year counterparts. Once granted, the scholarship is continuous throughout the student’s degree course – provided a grade point average (“GPA”) of 2.5 is maintained. Also, scholarship students who achieve high GPA scores receive additional financial rewards, recognised and paid on a semester basis.”
Importantly, all recipients of a DUBAL Scholarship must work for DUBAL after graduation for a period of time equal to or greater than the period of the scholarship. As an incentive, an additional stipend of AED 500 per month (per student) is retained by DUBAL and paid to the student on successful completion of six months’ service at DUBAL after graduation. “Our scholarship students are also expected to work for DUBAL during the summer vacation period for the duration of their scholarship, so as to obtain practical training and work experience,” says Nassir. “This entails up to five weeks’ student employment per academic year.”
He goes on to say that DUBAL automatically includes the scholarship students in its greater corporate family. “From the moment a student receives a DUBAL scholarship, he/she is treated similarly to an employee,” Nassir explains. “Our students receive a DUBAL identity and access card, a personal copy of our monthly employee newsletter, a DUBAL desk calendar at the start of each year, and seasonal greeting cards for key events such as Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha. We also visit them on campus twice per semester (i.e. four times in an academic year), and keep in close contact with them with a view to developing long-term relationships.”
Once graduated and employed full-time at DUBAL, the scholarship students are enrolled in the company’s Graduate Trainee Programme (“GTP”). Another of DUBAL’s National Development Programmes, the GTP an 18-month on-the-job training intervention that enables young UAE National graduates (whether recipients of a DUBAL scholarship or not) to assume a role as one of DUBAL’s first line supervisors within a relatively short time frame. “We do our best to offer our scholarship students a challenging, yet rewarding career path so that the benefits of the programme are mutual,” says Nassir. “By targeting the best talent available and providing excellent personal career growth opportunities, the DUBAL Scholarship Programme is effectively the first step in our leadership pipeline. It also contributes meaningfully to our ambitions for DUBAL to be the employer of choice for the region.”
Broadening the knowledge base
An internal scholarship programme is also in place at DUBAL, which aims to promote education at all levels in subject areas that are beneficial to the company. According to Nassir, 34 DUBAL employees currently hold such scholarships and are furthering their studies. “We have six employees enrolled for full-time study towards bachelors or masters degrees, three within the UAE and three abroad,” he says. “The remaining employees who have been granted scholarships are engaged in part-time study: they hold down full-time employment and study in the evenings and at weekends. Diverse programmes are being followed, including PhDs, MBAs, masters and bachelors degrees, chartered management accountancy and the higher national diploma.”
