• Najla Al-Sager : The Academy reflects NBK’s strategy for investing in Kuwaiti talent, job nationalization and support of the national economy

Underscoring its belief in the importance of investing in human capital, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) welcomed the 28 wave of newly hired employees to its annual NBK Academy program, reflecting its strategy for acquisition of high-caliber national talent from Kuwaiti fresh university graduates.

The Opening ceremony was attended by Mr. Salah Al-Fulaij, CEO of NBK – Kuwait, Mr. Sulaiman Al-Marzouq, Deputy CEO of NBK – Kuwait, Mr. Faisal A. Al-Hamad, Chief Executive Officer - Global Wealth Management at NBK, Mr. Emad Al-Ablani, GM – Group Human Resources at National Bank of Kuwait, Mr. Ahmed Bourisly, GM – Corporate Banking Group, Mr. Mohammad Al-Kharafi, GM – Head of Group Operations, in addition to a number of executive managers and officials from Talent Management Department.

The program will run for 7 months, from 15 January to July, during which 21 trainees will receive intensive training on technological, behavioral and other skills that allow them to build a thriving career at NBK.

It also covers various areas of Development, such as design thinking, boosting productivity, training on creativity and innovation, digital banking trends, as well as key banking principles. Following that, the trainees will receive intensified training on branch work mechanism for 5 weeks before having on-site training at NBK branches for 2 months. At the final part of the program, the trainees will be familiarized with all NBK groups and departments through on-site visits to gain better understanding of the banking sector.

The participants will also present new ideas to the heads of different departments through the “Innovation Challenge” program, which aims to stimulate trainees’ creativity and introducing innovative solutions for the various training aspects covered in the Academy.

On this occasion, Najla Al-Sager, Head of Talent Management at Group Human Resources at National Bank of Kuwait, said: “NBK Academy reflects our strategy for investing in local talent, in line with our goals related to job nationalization and support of the Kuwaiti economy.”

“At NBK, we always seek to acquire young Kuwaiti talent and to develop and upskill them to add value to the banking sector in the future,” she added.

“NBK Academy aims to prepare highly skilled young Kuwait banking leaders in all the disciplines of the banking sector. This goes in line with our ambitious plans towards building a sustainable future, continuous service improvement, and achieving steady business growth and expansion both locally and regionally,” she noted.

The program is specially designed for Kuwaiti fresh university graduates who successfully meet the admission criteria. It hosts internationally accredited trainers to impart employees with specialized banking skills.

It is worth mentioning that NBK Academy was launched in 2008 with the aim of paving the way for Kuwaiti fresh university graduates to join the banking sector. It provides the participants with the best-in-class training programs developed in cooperation with leading international institutions and universities to meet the demands of the labor market.

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