Dubai Knowledge Village Launches the Training & HR Breakfast Club

DUBAI: 9 March, 2006

The region's corporate world is going through a paradigm shift in the way it manages its people, thanks to the development in the science of human capital management, a leading senior human resources development professional in the UAE said at the first event of the Dubai Knowledge Village Training & HR Breakfast Club held this week.

Yahya Abdulla Al Marzouqi, Training and Development Manager, Borouge, part of the ADNOC Group said: "People are the most crucial capital in all organizations that are eager and enthusiastic to maintain a competitive edge in the market. It is only through people that organizations reach higher limits. Therefore, we need to shift from the typical human resources notion to human capital.  In the current business world, one thing remains constant and that is change."

"The other factor of the "success equation" is leadership. People and leadership are the two faces of one coin. Leadership can make the key difference in ushering change in the practice of human development in the region," said Al Marzouqi. "Organizations have to be headed by leaders and not managers. Managers maintain systems, while leaders create new opportunities and approaches."

"Many organizations resist change within their systems, be it technical or non-technical. For example, many organizations don't have retention schemes, rewards and recognition, career development and counseling sections."

However, there are encouraging signs of change in the UAE, pointed out Al Marzouqi. "The movement from a complex hierarchal organization to a new flat organization is a key trend that you can see everywhere.  Emphasis is also given to improvement in communication with internal and external customers.  More focus has also been given to improving employees' lifestyle."

"We are lucky to have smart political leadership in the country," he said. "Besides, our country has become the focus of many international businesses and speakers, who bring their knowledge and expertise to us," he added. He encouraged human development professionals to incorporate best practices elsewhere in the world. However, he said, "We have to differentiate between what will fit and what will not.  We cannot apply everything that is applicable in the West down here."

On the issue of nationalization, he said, "There is a fear of nationalization today but we should not be overwhelmed by emotions. Every country requires nationalization, but it has to be done in a systematic manner that maintains experience and integrity and recognizes and rewards non-nationals who help in the process."

Dubai Knowledge Village's Breakfast Club is a regular networking event that brings together officials of leading companies in Dubai and human development professionals based in Dubai Knowledge Village to network, exchange ideas and share knowledge.

Speaking about the objectives of the Training & HR Breakfast Club, Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, CEO of Dubai Knowledge Village said: "Human development professionals have a key role in corporate success because in today's competitive world, human capital makes the difference between progress and failure," said. "Through our Club, we are seeking to bring a host of senior human-development decision makers and thinkers to drive a discussion that will contribute to the development of this field."

The first event of the Dubai Knowledge Village Training & HR Breakfast Club also featured a presentation by Martin Jalili, Managing Director of Dubai Knowledge Village-based The People Partnership, also made a presentation on "The Dubai Human Development Award". The Dubai Human Development Award was launched in 2001 by Dubai Government's Department of Economic Development to acknowledge and reward the distinguished efforts and achievements of Dubai's private sector in the development of UAE nationals.

Jalili's presentation examined the Dubai Human Development Award criteria covering commitment, process and results, and shed light on a number of practices that have enabled companies to win this prestigious award: leadership, policy and strategy, succession planning, attracting, retaining and developing and training their national employees.

The Dubai Human Development Award model can be seen as a blueprint to localization best practices; encouraging participating companies to examine the effectiveness of their enabling criteria and helping them achieve their localization targets.

The newly launched Dubai Knowledge Village Training & HR Breakfast Club seeks to facilitate interaction and linkages between the corporate world and human resources and training practitioners in the region. The event is part KV's objectives to host events that drive the growth of the education and training sectors through sharing of knowledge and exchange of ideas.

This week's event brought together senior human resource officials from leading companies like Emirates Airlines, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Fertil, ADNOC, LG Electronics, Spinneys, Aramex, Gulf Air, Credit Suisse, along with officials of training and human development companies based at KV.

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© Press Release 2006