Etihad Airways Honored For Employee Learning And Development

Wissam Hachem, Etihad Airways Vice President Learning and Development (right), collects the Distinction in Learning and Development award from His Excellency Dr Omar Al Nuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Labour, and Sophie Le Ray, naseba group CEO. Photo © Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, received two prestigious accolades for its employee training and development initiatives at the 2014 MENA HR Excellence Awards.

Wissam Hachem, Etihad Airways Vice President of Learning and Development, accepted the Distinction in Learning and Development award during a recent gala ceremony in Dubai. The airline also won a certification of excellence in the Best Nationalisation Initiative category.

The MENA HR Excellence awards, now in their sixth year, celebrate human resource excellence within the Middle East and North Africa. An independent panel of judges was impressed by Etihad Airways’ “clear focus on employee skill enhancement, career progression and performance management as part of its world-class learning and development strategy.”

Etihad Airways has more than 19,000 employees across the world, with nearly 1,700 new members of staff welcomed in 2014 to date. The results of the airline’s Employee Opinion Survey have shown that 93 percent of staff are proud to work for the airline, with 92 percent willing to go beyond their normal job requirements in order to help the company succeed.

Etihad Airways invests in developing UAE nationals into future aviation leaders through its highly successful two-to-three year Graduate Management Program, which is underpinned by internationally accredited qualifications and integrates classroom education with on-the-job training, both in the UAE and across the network. UAE nationals are now the number one nationality group within the managers’ level.