Sharjah, February 9, 2020:  Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, today Sunday inaugurated the 22nd edition of the National Career Exhibition 2020 which is held at the Expo Centre Sharjah until February 11.

With the participation of more than 50 public and private institutions, The Career Fair is organized by the Expo Centre Sharjah in cooperation with the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS) and Directorate of Sharjah Human Resources (DHR), with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SCCI. 

The opening ceremony was attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Statistics and Community Development, Sheikh Faisal bin Saud Al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah International Airport Authority, HE Ali Mhd Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Emirate of Sharjah, and HE Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander in Chief of Sharjah Police, HE Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman, SCCI, HE Dr. Tariq Sultan Bin Khadem, Head of the Directorate of Human Resources, HE Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO, Expo Centre Sharjah, HE Jamal Al Jassmi, General Manager of EIBFS, a number of members of the SCCI Board of Directors, HE Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al-Awadi, SCCI’s Director-General, a number of heads and directors of federal and local departments and institutions, banking executives, sponsors, and media representatives.

Following the inauguration, Sharjah Crown Prince, accompanied by the Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and the attendees, toured the exhibition pavilions, where they were briefed on the job opportunities and training programs offered to Emirati citizens and graduates and the various opportunities the participating institutions provide for enhancing the job skills of Emirati job seekers, in addition to the most prominent achievements of banks, insurance companies, finance and exchange in the Emiratization field.

This year’s edition is focusing on three main themes; “empowering promising national cadres, training and professional development”.
The ceremony of the “Human Resources Development (HRD) Awards 2019” was held after the official opening of the exhibition, where HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi honored a number of distinctive figures, institutions, and banks that made outstanding efforts and achieved the highest percentage of Emiratization, besides empowering human resources and promoting the investment of their energies in the labor market.
His Highness also honored the organizers of the National Career Exhibition, the banks that achieved the highest rate of Emiratization, in addition to the winners of the Human Resources Development Award for the banking and financial sectors and the Best Emiratization CEO Award.
Additionally, the strategic partners of the HRD Award were honored, including the Armed Forces, the SCCI, and the Expo Centre Sharjah, as well as honoring the sponsors;

The Golden Sponsor - Sharjah Islamic Bank
Presented to HE Mohammed Ahmed Abdullah - Chief Executive Officer

Sharjah Islamic Bank
While Hossam Al Sayed, Director General of Human Resources Department, Emirates NBD, won the HRD Personality of the Award.
Also, His Highness honored the winners of the HRD Awards, where the RAKBANK won the HRD Award for the Banking Sector and the award received by Ahmed Youssef, CEO of Human Resources.

HE Abdulfattah Sharaf - CEO – HSBC, won the Best Emiratization CEO Award in the banking and financial sector.
While the Outstanding Woman Award in the Banking and Financial Sector went to Hessa Al-Mulla, Vice President of Sales and Distribution of Banking at Emirates NBD, and Hoda Sabeel, CFO, Emirates Islamic Bank.

The honoring also included members of the Emiratization Committee, EIBFS, in recognition of their support to the program for rehabilitating Emirati nationals working in the banking sector. The honorees were; Ahmed Al Zaabi, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Salem Al-Khidr, United Arab Bank, Mohamed Al Shamsi, Ajman Bank, Maryam Al-Muhairi, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Samira Al Balushi, Emirates NBD.

A Priority for the Wise Leadership
Commenting on the opening of the 22nd National Career Exhibition, HE Abdullah Sultan Al Owais thanked and appreciated His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah for patronizing the National Career Exhibition, commending the presence of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi and H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi.

“This underlines that the employment of Emirati citizens and unleashing their capabilities to lead economic development is a top priority for wise leadership. This also indicates that the UAE is one the right track, through the rehabilitation of the national cadres and the development of human capital with the best modern skills and knowledge,” added Al Owais.

He explained that the National Career Exhibition aims at introducing the Emirati cadres and competencies to the various disciplines of the labor market, enhancing the job opportunities available to new graduates and others looking for better opportunities in various fields, and bolstering the Emiratization strategy.

Bolsters the Sustainable Development
HE Dr. Tariq Sultan Bin Khadem thanked and appreciated His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah for harnessing all the capabilities and efforts to support, prepare, and qualify national human resources, in addition to training and empowering them to work in the public and private authorities and to ensure their career development in a way that supports the sustainable development process in the UAE, as per the best scientific approaches and local and international practices.

“Thanks to the insightful vision of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, the Emirate of Sharjah provides several opportunities to attract citizenship cadres, and to pave the way for them to penetrate the career environment and reach the stage of empowerment in support of the development process and enhance the status of human wealth as an active pillar and backbone for building the integrated national edifice,” Bin Khadem explained.

He pointed out that the National Career Exhibition is forming a link between public and private employers and competent jobseekers. It also paves the way for ambitious youth to gain experience and knowledge and benefit from the opportunities for development and training available throughout the exhibition.
“The exhibition also constitutes an important channel for job seekers and paves the way for them to show their energies and market themselves. It is a precious opportunity for them to achieve their personal aspirations, and support and participate in the development process of the country by,” added Bin Khadem.
He underlined that the human element is the basis in the UAE’s approach, pointing out that the DHR focuses on supporting Emiratization efforts in the private sector through the exhibition, and highlighting its role in attracting national talents and providing job opportunities for citizens.

Appreciating the Expo Centre’s efforts in organizing this annual event, which aims to provide job opportunities for national cadres in all sectors and commending the cooperation of Sharjah government departments and institutions for their participation within the government platform and their keenness to communicate directly with job seekers, Bin Khadem expressed his hope that the Career Fair will achieve the same success of the previous editions, which helped in developing, training, and employing many national competencies in important work sites in the governmental and private sectors.

8,000 Jobs in Financial and Insurance Sectors
HE Jamal Al Jassmi said the patronage and attendance of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi to the National Career Exhibition and the HRD Awards ceremony emphasizes his unlimited support for the Emiratization file, adding that the EIBFS adopts many initiatives aimed at enticing Emirati citizens to work in the banking and insurance sectors to achieve the strategic goal of the wise leadership in terms of providing 8,000 jobs in the financial and insurance sectors.

“Identifying the new objectives of Emiratization in the banking and insurance sectors reflects EIBFS’s commitment to cooperate with its partners to implement the package of Emiratization decisions, in accordance with the vision and directives of the wise leadership,” he added.
Al Jassmi lauded the efforts made by the Central Bank of the UAE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization, UAE Banks Federation, the Insurance Authority, the Banking Institute, banks, and insurance companies to raise the rates of Emiratization in the banking and insurance sectors, which have various job opportunities, in addition to their ability to develop more opportunities that meet the aspirations of citizens in terms of privileges and job stability.
He stated that the banking sector is leading the economic sectors in terms of accommodating the citizens amounting to 9418 working in banks and financial institutions.

HRD Award in Banking Sector
Al Jassmi stressed that the HRD Award in the Banking and Financial Sectors, which is awarded annually on the sidelines of the National Career Exhibition, is constituting a tribute and appreciation to the leading banks in the human resource development field for their tangible achievements in the process of Emiratization and the development of national human resources.

He noted that the award aims to encourage banking and financial institutions to adopt future policies and plans enhancing the Emiratization process, and also to encourage them to increase the percentage of citizens working in these institutions and develop their capabilities in line with the trends of human resources development in the banking and financial sector in the country.

Award Criteria
As for the award criteria, Al Jassmi noted that a special committee had been formed to make the award-related decisions, according to five criteria. The first criterion is to identify how to plan the Emiratization process and define the Emiratization-related targets and how to implement these plans and transform them into reality within the institution.

While the second criterion is concerned with how the senior management deals with the issue of Emiratization. This criterion also attempts to address the issue of transferring and presenting the values and goals of the institution and its directives to citizens working in them.
The third criterion examines the efforts made by institutions to motivate citizens to benefit from their talents. The fourth criterion aims to identify the institution's keenness to develop citizens and obtain highly effective training programs.

The fifth criterion is related to the community service, through the contribution to the activities and programs of the Human Resources Development Committee and any additional contributions of the institutions to serve the community, based on the definition of social involvement which includes training and employing citizens.

The scores for each criterion were determined according to the relevant questions, in addition to a special jury to consider the nominees’ applications and choose the award winners.

Encouraging National Youth Competencies
HE Saif Mohammed Al Midfa said: “The National Career Exhibition reflects the commitment to encouraging young citizens and competencies to develop their capabilities and skills to help them excel and contribute to the sustainable development of the UAE, thanks to the distinguished job opportunities available in various university disciplines. 

Al Midfa explained: “The Expo Center Sharjah, in cooperation with its partners and with the support of the SCCI, is keen on achieving excellence in the Career Fair to keep pace with government requirements and meet the needs of the rapidly growing and rapidly changing labor market, and to help job seekers, especially Emirati graduates, to learn more about opportunities available in government and private sector institutions, which form an integral part of the growing local and national economy.”

He added: “The wide participation of government institutions reflects their strong interest in caring for national cadres. It also represents an important opportunity for the participating entities to select the appropriate talents from among the national graduates and to optimally select the right person who meets the requirements of their human resource departments.”

“The UAE is seeing a growing demand for space, nuclear energy, renewable energy industries and other advanced sectors, in addition to the international events and the massive development and economic projects taking place in the country, including the Expo 2020, something which leads to creating tens of thousands of job opportunities annually” 

This also enhances the importance of the Career Fair as an annual platform, in which government and private institutions meet with young graduates and job seekers, to benefit and invest in national skills and promising experiences.

Supporting the Priorities of Emiratization Plans
HE Abdulfattah Sharaf - CEO – HSBC said: “It is a great honor to receive the Best Emiratization CEO Award in the Banking and Financial Sector organized by the EIBFS. As the UAE’s first bank, we are committed to playing our role in supporting the priorities of Emiratization plans in the UAE by providing various experiences of Emirati national skills. The values of creativity, which are the basis for the developmental, economic and social renaissance of the UAE, represent the approach we adopt in attracting Emirati skills and expertise. I’m fully confident that our Emirati national competencies are shining in all sectors of our institution globally as distinctive ambassadors of our brand and the region.”

The National Career Exhibition is an annual platform, through which government and private institutions meet with young graduates looking for job opportunities in the banking and financial sectors in various institutions.

The exhibition also aims to provide an interactive space between graduates and public and private sector institutions and guide and instruct new graduates on how to choose their career path in a way that suits the needs of the labor market.
The exhibition is open to visitors from 10 am to 8 pm daily.