Etihad welcomes ninth and tenth class of graduate managers

Two more groups of Emirati graduate managers have commenced training at Etihad Airways headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

The 36 Emiratis are the ninth and tenth groups to undertake the 21-month training Graduate Management Development Program (GMDP).This involves a six month workplace orientation in key Etihad departments, followed by eight months of workplace learning with a specified team. Their last phase involves a business-based project.

Successful graduates will attain an internationally recognised and accredited post graduate diploma.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways Chief Executive, said: “As the national airline of the UAE, and as part of our support of the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan, we are committed to training and developing a national workforce of skilled and motivated Emiratis.

“Our Emiratisation program continues to expand at an extraordinary pace. Over the next 21 months these two groups of talented young UAE nationals will learn vital information about Etihad and the airline industry.”

The Graduate Manager Program is designed to train and develop managers who will play a key part in the growth of Etihad Airways and is part of it’s highly successful Emiratisation scheme. This also includes an aircraft maintenance engineering program, a contact centre program and one for cadet pilots. Etihad Airways recently launched a call centre in Al Ain, managed and operated by only UAE national women.

114 graduate managers have joined the GMDP since it first started in 2007. By the end of 2011, more than 20 per cent of Etihad’s core workforce will be UAE nationals.

Budour Al Blooshi, a member of the tenth group of the graduate programme, said: “This program has so far made me a more responsible person and has encouraged me to be more creative and willing to gain new skills in a professional way.”

The GMDP group nine members are: Maryam Essa Ahli, Jameela Ahmed Al Ameri, Amira Asad Al Harmoudi, Wafa Faisal, Waleed Masood Badri, Ali Yaqoob Al Obaidli, Nabeel Yousef Al Mansoori, Tariq Bin Hezam, Hamad Saeed Al Awadi, Khalifa Al Romaithi, Amro Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Ghada Saleh Al Hammadi, Latefa Al Mazrouei, Haleema Mohamed, Talha Al Awlaqi, and Safaa Saeed Al Katheeri,

Group ten members are : Abeer Al Ali, Fatima Al Junaibi, Salma Qasim Al Breiki, Zainab Al Marzooqi, Manal Al Ali, Shaikha Al Nowais, Budoor Al Blooshi, Jumanah Abdulla, Shaikha Al Sadrani, Ahmed Al Sawalhi, Anas Al Falasi, Khaled Hafiti, Hamad Al Mazmy, Ali Al Ketbi, Nasir Al Ameeri ,Khalfan Al Kaabi, Mohamed Al Shaibani, Saud Al Suwaidi, Shaikha Al Habshi, and Fatema Al Aidarous.