14 talented UAE nationals graduate from FGB’s ‘Nujoom’ Management Trainee Programme

14 talented UAE nationals have graduated from FGB’s fast-track management trainee programme, ‘Nujoom’, at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi this week, at the St. Regis Hotel, Corniche. The graduates are the fourth group of students to take part in the Nujoom programme, which provides young Emirati graduates with hands-on work experience, structured learning and the opportunity on graduating from the programme to take on their first management role at the bank. 

The graduation ceremony was attended by senior management from FGB, including the Managing Director, Abdulhamid Saeed and CEO, André Sayegh. Guests also included representatives of the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies. 

The ‘Nujoom’ programme was launched in 2012 as part of FGB’s ongoing strategy to support the development of Emiratis, providing them with the skills required to enter leadership roles in the banking and financial services sector. The 18-month programme provides opportunities for young Emiratis to experience a wide range of training activities across the bank, helping them to grow and develop at FGB. 

The programme consists of three phases, including ‘Induction’, ‘Knowing the Business’ and ‘Ownership & Accountability’. Alongside the formal training elements of the Nujoom programme, each trainee is assigned various responsibilities for the businesses/functions they have been placed in according to their specialisation, which range from Strategic Planning, Wholesale Banking and Wholesale Credit, to Corporate Affairs, Consumer Banking and Human Resources. 

Abdulhamid Saeed, FGB’s Managing Director, commented: “Our Nujoom programme is a prime example of FGB’s ongoing efforts to support the development of young Emiratis, arming them with the skills they need to build a successful career in the UAE’s banking and financial services sector. The success of tailor-made initiatives like this reflects our position as an employer of choice for UAE nationals – a proposition which will continue to strengthen in the future. We are proud to see our fourth batch of Nujoom students graduate today and we look forward to seeing them actively supporting the growth of FGB and helping us to continue fulfilling our promise of being the first choice for our customers.” 

Gareth Powell, Head of Human Resources at FGB, added: “Our Management Trainee Programme Nujoom has been designed to accelerate the development of talented UAE nationals in the banking sector and it is with much pride that we have to date graduated a total of 59 talented graduates from this programme. We have done this by taking both time and effort in the design and implementation of this structured development to ensure our graduates gain insight and practical experience across various units within the organization, so that we have a well-developed and capable pipeline of future leaders at FGB. Through the Nujoom programme we have fostered strong relationships with the local community, particularly local, regional and international universities, where we attract and identify our future management trainees through well regarded internships, and summer training programmes”. 

The fifth batch of ‘Nujoom’ trainees are currently in the second phase of the programme, and FGB is currently recruiting its sixth batch of students to the programme, which is planned to commence in September 2016.