DUBAI: Close to 250 students from 8 schools may be one step closer to answering the question on everyone’s mind – “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group – Emirates welcomed students to the Emirates Group Headquarters for an immersive session as part of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature’s Education Programme, which reached more than 30,000 students last year. The session explored the diversity of roles within the organisation, helping to cultivate their passion for aviation by enriching their understanding of the skills and passion required for these roles.
Students between the ages of 14 to 18 years old were treated to a memorable two hour session on what it takes to work for the world’s largest international airline. Team members from across different departments at Emirates engaged with students through insightful presentations, interactive questions from the audience and a panel discussion, inspiring them to take a greater interest in the aviation industry.
“Spotlight on careers – Come fly with me”
Jointly organised with Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, this is the first session of its kind and it is an extension of the airline’s support for the Festival this year, promoting the 2020 theme of “Tomorrow”, and helping drive conversations with the next generation of aviators to power the future of the industry.
Dawn Metcalfe, a Festival speaker and UAE-based career advisor and author who focuses on workplace readiness for students, moderated the event. The session with inspiring presentations held by team members across different Emirates departments including: Emirates Engineering, Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand, Emirates Flight Catering and Emirates Airport Services.
Shajee Rafi, Manager Business Improvement at Emirates Engineering, offered a sneak peek into the inner workings of Emirates Engineering, and the cutting-edge technologies that will drive tomorrow’s aviation industry; Valerie Tan, VP in the Corporate Communications Marketing & Brand (CCMB) department, led the discussion around what to expect from a communications and marketing profession in the aviation industry.
Emirates Captain Shehab Hamza and Emirates Cabin Crew Supervisor, Jade Cobbs joined the panel discussion to engage with the students and answer queries around their profession. They discussed wonderful moments they have experienced during flights, the challenges of their roles, their favourite destinations, and how they have grown in their roles at the airline.
Ravi Nage, Regional Catering Manager, explained the process of creating seasonal and regionally inspired meals, to cater to the airline’s diverse mix of customers across all flights; Nick Moore, SVP Passenger Services & Hub Operations at Emirates Airport Services, discussed the leadership skills and know-how required to oversee passenger services and hub operations at the busiest international airport in the world – Dubai.
The session concluded with a motivational speech by guest speaker, Jonathan Yabut – best-selling author and winner of The Apprentice Asia, and one of more than 200 popular Festival authors. As a youth advocate, Jonathan connected with the audience reaffirming “you can never be too small to dream big.”
The Emirates Group prides itself on the strength and diversity of its workforce, which is made up of over 160 nationalities possessing unique talents across a range of disciplines. Today’s session is a reflection of the airline’s efforts to give back and connect its employees to local communities in order to build strong, more impactful relationships where they live and work. The airline recognises the importance of building a pipeline of talent for the next generation, through innovative approaches that ignite the spark in students to pursue their dreams in the aviation industry.
