MANILA, Philippines - Etihad Airways has welcomed more than 260 Emirati nationals to its workforce through the Absher initiative.
The Absher initiative was conceived by the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to support Emiratisation and create new jobs for skilled Emiratis in the UAE labor market.
Etihad Airways is one of UAE’s leading employers and has been widely praised for its Emiratisation recruitment strategy.
The strategy offers Emiratis world-class training, in addition to highly attractive career prospects, across the global business. Roles are diverse, including graduate managers, cadet pilots, technical engineers, sales managers, guest service agents, contact centre agents and airport operations managers.
As a result, Emiratis now comprise 22.4 percent of Etihad Airways’ core workforce, with more than 1,250 UAE nationals employed across the airline’s seven divisions.
In line with the memorandum of understanding signed in June 2012 with the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Etihad Airways hopes to recruit an additional 1,500 Emirati citizens to its global team over the next five years.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president and chief executive, said: “As the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, we are committed to employing and empowering Emiratis to play an even greater role in our world-class business.
“Our mandate includes introducing new opportunities in the UAE aviation sector for Emiratis, specifically in Abu Dhabi. We have made huge strides, been widely praised for our efforts, and are looking forward to supporting ever more UAE nationals across the business.â€