22 December, 2013 - Building on its current successful nationalization programs, Deloitte ran a nation-wide recruitment campaign in 2013 in Saudi Arabia to identify young talented Saudi men and women and train them to join its consulting business in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.  Those who passed the rigorous screening and testing were offered to join the firm and underwent training to qualify them as new business analysts at Deloitte Consulting. A part of this on-boarding process was a three week intensive regional resident training program, "Deloitte Analyst Induction Program", which has just concluded in the United Arab Emirates.

The comprehensive Deloitte Analyst Induction Program brought an international dimension and experience-sharing insights to young Saudi nationals, to provide them with consulting competencies learning, as well as on-the-job training, to acquire a professionally rounded career in consulting to private and public sector clients across the region.

For the duration of the program, the new Deloitte business analysts are sequestered in one location, and provided with intensive training by highly qualified international and regional facilitators. The program is a first step in a consulting career path that offers Saudi youth the opportunity, skills and learning to excel and progress to become partners at Deloitte in Saudi Arabia or across the world, a network which spans 150 countries. The focus of the program is to develop first-class Consulting Business Analysts who are client and project-ready, by building their competencies and exposing them to real-life client simulations, where they even present consulting proposals to Deloitte partners and client panels.

"Deloitte's Analyst Induction program aims to equip newly hired Deloitte consultants with all the necessary tools and know how to succeed in the consulting field. The program is aligned with nationalization efforts undertaken by Deloitte & Touche Bakr Abulkhair & Co. in Saudi Arabia. By providing international training, the program's end result is enhancing the skills of young talented Saudi men and women, thus multiplying their career advancement opportunities," explains Bakr Abulkhair, Member of the Board of Directors of Deloitte Middle East and Chairman and Managing Partner at Deloitte & Touche Bakr Abulkhair & Co. "This is in line with supporting the Kingdom's agenda for investment in Human Capital," he stressed.

The program also gathered representatives from Deloitte's clients who attended the training to share their experience and expectations of services needed to make them improve their businesses, thus making Deloitte services tailored to clients' needs. This participatory style is well tested and adopted by Deloitte as an effective tool in developing first-class consulting practices to clients in the Middle East.

"The Analyst Induction Program is intended to help talented Saudi youth develop their experiences as analysts based on blended learning, which consists of various learning tools, including e-Learnings, on-the-job training and lectures and presentations," said Rushdi Duqah, Senior Director in Consulting at Deloitte & Touche Bakr Abulkhair & Co.

"All program graduates are expected to have gained a set of skills over the course of the program which will equip them with the necessary tools and knowledge to meet Deloitte's high standards and deliver the firm's promise to its clients. In addition, the program acted as a networking and bonding platform for the analysts to meet their peers as well as Deloitte's leadership to enhance teamwork and coordination among Deloitte's large talent base," added Julian Hawkins, Consulting leader at Deloitte Middle East.

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About Deloitte:
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and its member firms.

Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and high-quality service to clients, delivering the insights they need to address their most complex business challenges. Deloitte has in the region of 200,000 professionals, all committed to becoming the standard of excellence.

Deloitte's professionals are unified by a collaborative culture that fosters integrity, outstanding value to markets and clients, commitment to each other, and strength from cultural diversity. They enjoy an environment of continuous learning, challenging experiences, and enriching career opportunities. Deloitte's professionals are dedicated to strengthening corporate responsibility, building public trust, and making a positive impact in their communities.

About Deloitte & Touch Bakr Abulkhair:
Deloitte & Touche Bakr Abulkhair & Co, one of Saudi Arabia's leading professional services firms, is a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL). With uninterrupted presence in the Kingdom since 1950, it has offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar and offers audit, tax, zakat, consulting, enterprise risk services and financial advisory services to leading Saudi public and private organizations and international companies.

About Deloitte & Touche (M.E.):
Deloitte & Touche (M.E.) is a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) and is the first Arab professional services firm established in the Middle East region with uninterrupted presence since 1926.

Deloitte is among the region's leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services through 26 offices in 15 countries with around 3,000 partners, directors and staff. It is a Tier 1 Tax advisor in the GCC region since 2010 (according to the International Tax Review World Tax Rankings). It has received numerous awards in the last few years which include Best Employer in the Middle East, best consulting firm, and the Middle East Training & Development Excellence Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

News Release
Contact: Ehsan A. Makhdoum
Partner
Deloitte and Touche Bakr Abulkhair & Co
Tel: +966 11 282 8444
Fax: +966 11 293 0880
Email: emakhdoum@deloitte.com

© Press Release 2013