Abu Dhabi, 10 July 2011 (WAM) --The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City has embarked on a summer training program for 100 male and female university students, including 4 students from the Zayed Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works as part of its social responsibility and its effective contribution to assist in building a sustainable strategy. The program also reflects the Municipalitys keenness on qualifying and training national cadres with a view to creating a distinguished generation capable of keeping abreast of the comprehensive development requirements.

During the 2-month long training period held under the theme "Invest in your time during your summer with the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City", the Municipality has designed an integrated program to impart practical skills in students complementing their theoretical studies, develop their environment-related capacities and enrich their academic knowledge with experience that can effectively uplift the quality of deliverables and serve the overall drive.

The program began with an introductory workshop during which a clutch of students were familiarized with the laws and rules that should be complied with during the training period. Students were also informed about the role, tasks and objectives of the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City since its inception and the internal and external achievements made throughout its development. They were also acquainted with the anticipated deliverables of the training period, the identified objectives of the training program, mechanisms of evaluation measurement and methods of establishing how useful the program was to the students.

Welcoming the trainee students, engineer Abdul Aziz Zurub, Director of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), delivered a detailed presentation on the HSE standards and systems and the efforts being made by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City to apply these systems in conformity with the local laws and in bring them in line with the best global practices to curb accidents and injuries and provide a safe environment at various workplaces. The move falls in line with the current drive of the Government of Abu Dhabi in implementing these requirements and standards to promote the deliverable at all sites and processes.

He said: "The objective of the presentation is to ensure that all new employees are fully conversant with the HSE policy, that they are better aware of the expected role and that all work-related risks are identified.

Zurub emphasized that adopting an overall HSE policy reflected the Municipalitys social responsibility and its keenness on providing the community and environment with services safely and responsibly, ensuring the health, safety and welfare of its employees, customers and partners and developing environmental performance with regard to its activities and initiatives. He added that that the Municipality was involved in implementing and putting this policy at the disposal of all through all available programs and methods.

Suhail Al Falasy, Head of Training and Development, called upon the trainee students to maximize their utilization of this opportunity provided by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City backed with its own expertise and achievements attained over many decades. The Municipality has been playing a pioneering role in the building and development process and establishment of infrastructure. He affirmed that the Municipality would put its experiences at the disposal of participating students enabling them to utilize such experience in planning the working life awaiting them after graduation from the universities.

He said that the training program was part of the social responsibility of the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City and its belief in the need for progress and adaptation the social and economic changes and the importance of improving the deliverables and contributing to synthesizing the principles so that the rising generations can cope with these changes and their consequent dividends and professional requirements. He added that the training program aimed to enable the students to overcome all difficulties capably through such exposure which would assist in preparing them personally and professionally.

"The Municipality has developed the training program in such a manner as to serve the potential objectives, fit various academic specialization and strengthen experiences so that the students can successfully pass the training period equipped with rich practical skills that would assist them in confidently engaging the labor market in the future and in making further distinguished assets through partnership and constructive cooperation with the universities and educational institutions from where students come", Al Falasy concluded his remarks.

Addressing the trainees, engineer Yousef Ahmed Khoury, Head of Corporate Excellence, tackled the concept of excellence which was introduced within the Municipality in 2007. "The basic objective of the Excellence Section was to disseminate excellence among the Municipalitys employees through designed administrative models, consolidation of serious practical concepts and establishment of functional concepts in support of distinguished employees, the aim being to promote the standards of work and performance in various municipal sectors", said Khoury.

He further added "The concept of excellence means the uniqueness and superiority over peers in providing deliverables efficiently and effectively and in such a way as to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of customers and concerned entities through applicable working methodologies and mechanisms that can effectively ensure continuing improvement in all aspects of performance." He stressed the importance of adopting the summer students training program for school and university students to utilize such program in implementing the national strategy aimed at qualifying and training nationals with a view to creating a generation that is capable of keeping abreast of the requirements of overall growth and development.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2011.