Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, today announced that the company recruited more than 220 UAE Nationals in 2022, including 100 women.

The average age of EGA’s new UAE National recruits was 23 years old. While EGA recruits mid-career experts, the company focuses on attracting and developing young people who are starting their careers as talent for the future.

Some 146 of the 2022 recruits joined EGA’s National Training programmes, which prepare high school leavers for technical positions in the company’s industrial facilities and administration. EGA also recruited 43 graduate trainees during the year.

EGA finished 2022 with an in-focus Emiratisation rate of 42 per cent. When considering the high number of blue-collar positions in heavy industry, EGA has one of the highest Emiratisation rates of any major company.

Almost 1,200 UAE Nationals work at EGA and over 700 of EGA’s Emirati employees are under the age of 35 years old.

EGA’s goal is to create 500 additional opportunities for UAE Nationals by 2026, taking the company to 45 per cent in-focus Emiratisation.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “In line with the economic agenda for the next decade of the UAE’s wise leadership,  we will continue focusing on Emiratisation to secure the strong talent we need for our future and to create opportunity for young UAE Nationals in our country’s industrial sector. We are particularly focused on recruiting and developing women, as diverse organisations perform better. National talent development has been a priority at EGA for more than 40 years, during which we have made a substantial contribution to the UAE’s Emiratisation goals.” 

Iman Al Qasim, Executive Vice President of Human Capital at Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “We have a bold aspiration for EGA to be the industrial employer of choice in the countries where we operate by 2030, and a talent-driven organisation. We look forward to the talented young UAE Nationals in our 2022 intake developing their skills in our sector, and playing key roles in the future development of our company.”

More than 5,000 UAE Nationals have graduated from EGA’s National Training Programmes for high school leavers since they were first established in 1982. The programmes last between six and 36 months depending on specialism, and many participants have gone on pursue long and successful careers at EGA with some reaching senior leadership positions.

In 2022, EGA opened National Training programmes for roles in industrial operations to women for the first time, with 16 young UAE National women joining during the year. Most of the places on EGA’s National Training programme for administration roles are taken by women.

EGA cooperates with Abu Dhabi’s Human Resources Authority in the recruitment of young UAE Nationals for some of the company’s National Training programmes.

EGA aims to increase the proportion of women in the UAE to 25 per cent by 2025 and is targeting 15 per cent of all roles at EGA being held by women by 2026.

Some 31 UAE Nationals joined EGA as experienced hires in 2022.

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Contacts at EGA:
Simon Buerk
sbuerk@ega.ae

About EGA

Since 1975, when it was founded as Dubai Aluminium by His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Global Aluminium has been innovating aluminium to make modern life possible.

Today EGA is the world’s biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil and gas industry.

EGA is equally-owned by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the largest company jointly owned by the two Emirates.

EGA is an integrated aluminium producer, with operations from bauxite mining to the production of cast primary aluminium. EGA operates aluminium smelters in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah, an alumina refinery in Al Taweelah and a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in the Republic of Guinea.

EGA’s aluminium is the second largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas. In 2021, EGA sold 2.54 million tonnes of cast metal. EGA is the only UAE producer and makes the UAE the fifth largest aluminium producing nation in the world.

EGA has more than 400 customers in over 50 countries. In 2021, value-added products accounted for 84 per cent of EGA’s cast metal sales.

EGA’s aluminium is primarily used in the construction, automotive, packaging, aerospace and electronics industries.

Around 10 per cent of EGA’s aluminium production is sold in the UAE to around 26 downstream aluminium companies that make products with EGA’s aluminium. The growing broader aluminium sector in the UAE supports 60,950 jobs. EGA itself employs over 7,000 of these people including almost 1,200 UAE Nationals.

EGA has focused on technology development for over 25 years. EGA has used its own technology for every smelter expansion since the 1990s and has retrofitted all its older production lines. In 2016 EGA became the first UAE industrial company to licence its core industrial process technology internationally.

As a corporate citizen of the UAE, EGA aspires in all its operations to be measured amongst the world’s leading metals and mining companies in meeting its environmental and social responsibilities. In 2017, EGA became the first Middle East headquartered company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, a global programme to foster greater sustainability and transparency in the aluminium industry. In 2019, EGA’s Al Taweelah site became the first in the Middle East to receive certification from ASI for its sustainability practices and performance. EGA’s Jebel Ali site was certified in 2021. ASI certification is the aluminium industry’s internationally recognised standard for environmental and social performance and governance.

In 2021, EGA began production of CelestiAL solar aluminium, produced with solar power from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park on the outskirts of Dubai. EGA is the first company in the world to make aluminium commercially using the power of the sun.

EGA was formed in 2014 through the merger of Dubai Aluminium and Emirates Aluminium.

EGA’s Jebel Ali aluminium smelter began production as DUBAL in 1979. At almost five square kilometres, this site is five times bigger than Dubai Mall.

EMAL started production in 2009 and its Al Taweelah aluminium smelter was the largest single-site aluminium smelter in the world when completed. EGA’s Al Taweelah site is five times bigger than Al Maryah Island at six square kilometres.

EGA has its own power stations at both sites, producing electricity to meet its needs. EGA’s electricity generation capacity is 6,474 megawatts, making EGA the third largest electricity generator in the UAE after the Dubai and Abu Dhabi utilities. EGA also produces water through desalination units at its power plants.

EGA began production at Al Taweelah alumina refinery in April 2019. EGA’s alumina refinery is the first in the UAE and only the second in the Middle East. The project reduces the UAE’s dependence on imported alumina and supplies over 40 per cent of EGA’s needs.

Bauxite exports from Guinea Alumina Corporation, EGA’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Guinea, began in August 2019. The GAC project was one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in over 40 years.

For more information on EGA please visit www.ega.ae.