NBK unleashes the potentials of the Kuwaiti youth in "Tamakan" program

• Al-Sager: We are committed to support all initiatives aiming to prepare a creative and innovative generation
• Al-Bahar: The quality of education should be our top priority to build a better future for our country
• Al-Fulaij to the youth: Keep your ambitions sky-high ... And have the passion to achieve the desired career development
• Al-Marzouq: Hard work and dedication are the keys to development in the private sector
• Al-Hamad: Be flexible, innovative and actively pursue knowledge

The new edition of “Tamakan” training program for fresh Kuwaiti university graduates offered by Creative Confidence Consulting Company was launched with the strategic sponsorship of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) for the third consecutive year.

In this hands-on training experience, NBK hosts 34 trainees at different training locations at its headquarters for 3 months, starting from 18 January until 27 March 2022, during which the bank provides them with courses aimed to develop their skills and qualify them to the labor market.

The program was launched in a ceremony held at NBK’s headquarters following all precautionary and social distancing measures. This included holding a panel discussion with the trainees in the presence of the bank’s executive management, in line of their commitment to support all initiatives aiming to empower and develop the Kuwaiti youth and preparing them to be future leaders.

The panel discussion was headed by Mr. Isam Al-Sager, NBK Group CEO, Mrs. Shaikha Al-Bahar, NBK Group Deputy CEO, 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 National Bank of Kuwait, as well as Mr. Emad Al-Ablani, GM - Group Human Resources, and Mr. Mohammed Al-Othman, GM - Consumer Banking Group at National Bank of Kuwait.

Investing into the future

On the sidelines of the panel discussion held at the program’s launch, NBK Group CEO, Mr. Isam Al-Sager noted that sponsoring Tamakan program comes in line with NBK’s unshakable commitment towards the youth and supporting them in their career considering that a real investment into the future.

NBK always places the youth as a top priority to ensure achieving a prosperous future for Kuwait, he added.

Al-Sager highlighted that these and other initiatives come in line with NBK’s commitment to its social responsibility and its role in achieving sustainable development, which depends on preparing an innovative, hardworking generation that is able to take responsibility.

He stressed that, as the largest Kuwaiti private sector institution, NBK always shows a role model in delivering on its social role and responsibility by contributing to qualification of young national cadres.

“The remarkable success achieved by the program over the past years was a great driver to continue our sponsorship of its new version. Therefore, I ask the trainees to show perseverance to realize their future goals, which are only attainable through dedicated efforts and hard work,” he concluded.

The quality of education

On her part, Mrs. Shaikha Al-Bahar, NBK Group Deputy CEO emphasized that investing in the youth is investing in a better future, therefore, the quality of education should be our top priority so that we can build a better future for our country.

Al-Bahar called on the government to work hard to develop the entire educational system, including the various stages of the educational process, in addition to the human factor represented in educational cadres.

“The rapid and changing development we are witnessing in all sectors and different industries by reliance on technology requires us to develop the human capital to keep pace with these developments to achieve sustainable growth, as the absence of well-qualified cadres means the inability to manage the country’s wealth in the future,” she explained.

Al-Bahar mentioned that the coronavirus pandemic showed the importance of digitization, as well as the urgent need to qualify the youth for a rapidly advancing and changing future, stressing the need to make a radical change in education to keep pace with what the labor market requirements, which is now looking for competent and experienced cadres in the areas of advanced technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic systems and programming.

Al-Bahar urged the youth to work hard to get prepared for the future to be active contributors in the development of Kuwait. 

Having the passion

From his side, Mr. Salah Al-Fulaij, CEO of NBK-Kuwait advised the youth to raise the ceiling of their ambitions and have the passion to achieve their desired career development. He pointed out that developing personal skills and perseverance in knowledge acquisition and learning are critical factors for a successful career path and qualification for the highest leadership positions in the future.

Al-Fulaij stressed that to hold a leadership position at NBK, it took a long journey and years of dedicated efforts, giving, and unwavering pursuit of investing in one’s self, noting that success requires striving for development and unquenchable eagerness for learning and accomplishment. 

Hard work and dedication

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Sulaiman Al-Marzouq, Deputy CEO of NBK-Kuwait said that the government sector has an issue in fair job process, which creates much frustration for the youth aspiring for a successful career.

Hard work and dedication are the keys to development in the private sector, which provides proper guidance to enhance personal skills and helps identify the strengths and weaknesses for personal skills development, he elaborated.

Al-Marzouq emphasized that the new generation has much better potentials and capabilities than previous generations, as we are now living in a more developed and open era, and all a successful person needs is to develop a strategic plan to manage their strengths and highlight their skills.

Investing in one’s self

In his speech, Mr. Faisal A. Al-Hamad, Chief Executive Officer - Global Wealth Management at National Bank of Kuwait advised the Kuwaiti youth of the necessity of investing in themselves, early planning for the future, and focusing on joining an encouraging work environment that contributes to learning and development.

Al-Hamad called on the youth to search for an ideal that stimulates the potential energies and helps in development and thinking, which is pivotal in developing one’s personality in his career.

He advised the youth to be flexible, innovative and actively pursue knowledge in order to keep pace with this massive transformation taking place in the labor market. 

Potential energies

Tamakan program requires full-time commitment being a full-time job experience; the program aims to develop the personal skills needed to become compelling candidates for employment in addition to motivating Kuwaiti youth to explore the potentials and energies within them, and unleashing the creativity of young cadres.

The program adopts the Blended Learning methodology, and focuses on many themes and workshops about creativity and innovation, design thinking, business model design, career exploration and innovative de-risking solutions.

Remarkable interest

Given the great success of the program’s first two editions, there was a remarkable interest in joining the program, with 550 applicants and 150 interviews, following which the number of trainees was increased to 34 trainees. The program also witnessed developing the methodology and design of educational materials by hosting international experts and holding workshops to stimulate the creative energies of the trainees.

Enhancing the skills

On the sidelines of the program launch event, Rana Al-Rasheed, Strategy Director at Creative Confidence expressed her pleasure with NBK’s sponsorship of Tamakan program for the third year in a row, noting that for 10 weeks, the program will qualify trainees and enhance their skills to fit in the real life job market, as it constitutes an innovative training experience for Kuwaiti graduates who need support to face the challenges of employment or setting up their own business, by developing required skills as well as providing experience.

Creative Confidence is a Kuwaiti consulting and training company specializing in stimulating innovation and creativity and providing practical training experiences for Kuwaiti graduates with the aim of developing young Kuwaiti cadres.

A major supporter

At the end of the reception ceremony, the trainees extended their thanks to National Bank of Kuwait for sponsoring the program and providing its long-standing expertise to develop their skills and qualify them for the labor market in a professional way, benefiting from the bank’s highly professional organizational approach.

It is worth mentioning that NBK sponsors various social initiatives serving Kuwait National Development Plan, including empowering youth and developing education, in line with its belief that the youth are Kuwait’s most valuable resource, and the cornerstone for the country's development.

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© Press Release 2022