Internship-type initiative provides practical skills to complement theoretical training, prepares students for employment
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: As part of the company's endeavours to support the socio-economic development of Dubai through education, while simultaneously establishing itself as an employer of choice in the Emirate, Dubai Aluminium Company Limited ("DUBAL") once again enrolled a group of 15 students from universities and colleges across the nation for its annual Work Placement Programme. The May 2009 group comprised UAE National students drawn from several higher education institutions; and brought the total number of Work Placement student trainees to 46 since the start of this calendar year.
As its name suggests, the programme provides opportunities for students to complete the practical and/or technical training components of their course curricula. It is structured as an internship, and combines on-the-job, hands-on skills training with the invaluable experience of a real working environment ... right down to being remunerated for the month spent at DUBAL's Jebel Ali site. Each student is required to deliver a presentation on the lessons learnt on their return to campus.
This year's Work Placement Programme students were selected from various engineering disciplines as well as the finance and business faculties. The young adults have been deployed in diverse functional departments across DUBAL, including Power & Desalination, Maintenance, Finance and Marketing & Sales. They have also watched DUBAL's educational film and participated in a guided tour of the company's production facilities, the combination giving them a brief but clear idea regarding the primary aluminium smelting process. In addition, the engineering students on the programme have attended DUBAL's Electrical Hazards Course - an initiative that develops valuable knowledge, understanding and skills that can be applied in virtually any heavy industrial environment.
Marwan Al Sawaleh (General Manager: Human Resources) advises that the Work Placement Programme is evidence of the partnership approach taken by DUBAL to all its stakeholder audiences. "DUBAL representatives visit the universities/colleges regularly and stay in close contact throughout the academic year via telephone and email. This equips the universities/colleges to identify potential candidates based on a deeper understanding of DUBAL and our capacity to accommodate Work Placement Programme students," he says. "It also gives DUBAL the opportunity to select the cream of the crop and, in doing so, invest in the business leaders of tomorrow."
Marwan adds that the selection process specifically targets students who can benefit from working within a world-class, multi-cultural company such as DUBAL. Once selected, individualised development programmes are created for each Work Placement Programme student so as to ensure the optimal use of the time they spend at DUBAL. "In this regard, the involvement and commitment of our departmental management and staff is invaluable," he observes.
Without exception, the Work Placement trainees found the experience rewarding. Here's what some of ladies from HCT Sharjah, all of them Electronics Engineering majors, had to say:
Salwa Ahmed - "Everyone at DUBAL is kind and easy to deal with. I've been given interesting tasks to complete, which were also informative and useful. I would be happy to return to DUBAL for Work Placement next year, too."
Salma Rashid - "I expected to work only in an office environment, so was both surprised and pleased to find that I was also required to work in the plant. The absence of gender discrimination at DUBAL is a very strong factor in the company culture."
Maryam Jasim - "I selected DUBAL for work placement experience because the area to which I was allocated corresponds strongly with my major. My Supervisor at university gave me great guidance, which has helped me obtain the maximum experience and other educational benefits from the programme. Although I was a bit hesitant at the beginning, once I became involved, I really enjoyed my time at DUBAL."
Hind Al Awadhi - "DUBAL offered me the opportunity to work and gain practical experience in an area related to my major. Being surrounded by other engineers in the department was a great way to develop my knowledge, skills and experience. I'm hoping to be offered a similar opportunity at DUBAL next year also, as it will help be complete my final project."
Sarah Mohammed - "I chose DUBAL because I wanted to develop practical skills while learning more about the real applications of my college courses. I also wanted to learn how to communicate with people of different nationalities and diverse personalities. The employees at DUBAL are very friendly and helpful."
Marwah Mohamed - "Participating in DUBAL's Work Placement programme gave me good experience in my chosen career field. I appreciated the way that DUBAL treated me as an employee: it taught me about responsibility and to have good manners in order to behave professionally."
Amna Al Harmoudi - "The operating area where I worked within DUBAL is very relevant to my major, and truly challenged me which I like! I will definitely make DUBAL my first career choice after graduation."
The students' sentiments reflect the long-standing success of the programme. Several Work Placement Programme students have subsequently joined DUBAL's Graduate Trainee Programme, and gone on to achieve senior levels in the organisation. These rising stars include Mustafa Anwar (Assistant Process Control Engineer), Maryam Al Jallaf (Senior Manager, Process Controll Potrooms & Cell Lining) and Najeeba Al Jabri (Senior Manager, Reduction Lines 3, 7 & 9).
"The Work Placement Programme is one of many initiatives that DUBAL uses to attract and educate UAE Nationals, thereby increasing their employability," Marwan says. "Our other National Development programmes all of which enjoy strong support from top management - include scholarships, a graduate trainee programme, pre-employment training courses and a summer training programme which, together, groom students to become economically active. Participation in the Work Placement Programme is also open to children of DUBAL employees, depending on their field of study and our capacity to accommodate them."
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About Dubai Aluminium Company ("DUBAL")
DUBAL is the world's largest modern aluminium smelter with a captive power station. It is also one of the largest non-oil contributors to the economy of Dubai. Built on a 480-hectare site in Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE, DUBAL's major facilities comprise an 960,000 tonne-per-annum primary aluminium smelter, a 2,350 megawatt power station (at 30°C), a large carbon plant, three casthouses, a 30-million-gallon-per-day water desalination plant, laboratories, port and storage facilities. Employment is provided to more than 4,100 people, of whom approximately 24 per cent are UAE Nationals.
The company has the capacity to produce more than one million tonnes of high quality finished aluminium products a year, in three main forms: foundry alloy for automotive applications; extrusion billet for construction, industrial and transportation purposes; and high purity aluminium for the electronics and aerospace industries.
DUBAL serves more than 290 customers in 48 countries predominantly in the Far East, Europe, the ASEAN region, the Middle East and Mediterranean region, and North America. The company holds ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification; and has twice won the Dubai Quality Award in the Production and Manufacturing sector (1996 and 2000).
© Press Release 2009
