The 21st edition of Ru’ya, Careers UAE Redefined, came to a close yesterday evening (22nd September) at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). Over the three days, thousands of aspiring job seekers connected with leading organisations to learn about the vast range of career opportunities available to them.
The UAE’s leading recruitment, skills development and networking forum for Emiratis provided a platform to inspire young people to take their next professional steps and network with over 100 prospective employers from leading local and international organisations, including ENOC Group, Aramex International, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, AW Rostamani Group, and Majid Al Futtaim. Tens of thousands of CVs were shared throughout the event, and organisations including Emirates Group and PwC conducted live screenings and interviews at their exhibition stands,
Also taking place on day three,were more inspirational talks from Emiratis who took a bold approach to their employment opportunities, under the theme ‘Be Bold, Be You’. Winners of three competitions were also announced, including a team of students from Dubai Modern Education School who won first place in the ‘The Next You’ entrepreneurship competition for their idea ‘Barq’, a mobile electric vehicle charging station.
AstroLab announced that students from Dubai National School were the winners of the ‘Top Coder’ competition for the best video game, and a judging panel from Al-Futtaim IKEA named a further group of students from Dubai National School as the winners of the ‘Upcycle & Design’ competition for their creation ‘Samlingsbord’.
Asma Alsharif, AVP, Sustainable Development, Exhibitions, Dubai World Trade Centre, said: “This was an incredibly successful Ru’ya, Careers UAE, where we saw thousands of young Emiratis connect with more than 100 exhibitors from a range of industries throughout the three days. As we all continue to look for ways to enhance Emiratisation efforts, it was brilliant to see so many companies share their invaluable knowledge and highlight job opportunities available within their organisations. It was also great to see exhibitors conducting some live interviews with candidates on their stands. We’d like to say a huge thank you to our exhibiting partners and hope that all visitors left feeling inspired to forge career paths that excite them.”
Nadeem Baig, Chief Human Resources Officer at Aramex International, said: “At Aramex, we are proud of our heritage as a global company that is based in the UAE, and the Ru’ya careers fair offers a great platform to connect with like-minded Emirati job seekers who share our heritage and vision for a promising future. We are constantly looking for top local talents to join us and contribute to the growth of the business, and are simultaneously committed to developing talent at all levels. At this year’s event, we’ve had many resumes shared with us, showing high engagement, and it’s been great to connect with so many ambitious individuals. We look forward to inviting some of those into the office for formal interviews in the near future.”
Manal Ali Al Soori, Vice President of Emiratisation & People Experience at Emirates Group, said: “Our people are the foundation of our success and we continually invest in attracting and retaining the unique talent within our business. As we look to attract more UAE national talent to join our organisation, the Ru’ya careers event has been a great opportunity to promote the exciting roles we offer and showcase the wealth of programmes and job opportunities for different fields within the aviation and travel industries. As a returning exhibitor, this year’s event has been particularly successful, and we are excited to have taken over 2,000 applications across various roles including pilots, engineering, cabin crew and graduate programs. On the first day, we also interviewed over 50 UAE nationals at our exhibition stand for live customer service roles.”
Khaled Bin Braik, Consulting Partner and Emiratisation Programme Sponsor at PwC, said: “We are committed to developing the skills of Emirati youth and investing in national talent to create the next generation of future leaders through our exclusive nationalisation programme, the Watani Emiratisation programme. This programme is an integral part of our overall people strategy and a critical contributor to the long-term success of our organisation in the region. Ru’ya Careers provides the right platform to help us reach this goal to attract top national talent across all Emirates. Investing in local talent not only enables us to better meet the needs of our local clients but also helps us build a more sustainable talent model aligned with our overall growth ambitions.”
