· Initiative underlines Vodafone's commitment to the growth and development of its workforce with a strong talent management programme that brings the best local and global leadership best practices

Doha, 17 October 2015: The future leaders of Vodafone Qatar have recently been recognised at a ceremony which celebrated the completion of two of the company's ILM-certified leadership programmes, the Vodafone Admired Leaders and the ILM Level 2 Awards programme. The ceremony was attended by 40 participants and Vodafone's senior executive committee who thanked each participant who are now on the path to embrace bigger and broader roles and become the next generation of senior leadership team within the second largest telecom group in the world.

Vodafone's Admired Leaders programme is Vodafone's flagship development programme which kicked off in November 2014 with 4 different modules which ran for a total of 8 months and included theoretical and applied learnings in the fields of Leadership, Engagement, Coaching, and Innovation. Out of the 22 participants, 14 were promoted to broader roles within Vodafone.

Admired Leaders aimed at releasing the potential and equipping the participants with the mind-set, skills and abilities required for more senior roles. Participants walked out of the programme with a deep understanding of what it takes to be an admired leader, how to engage others and inspire excellence, how to innovate and implement improvements and how to apply all of these skills in the workplace. It is programmes such as these which helped the company to win in The Employer of the Year - Private Sector award category at this year's MENA HR Excellence Awards, which rewards an organisation for its commitment to supporting employees at all levels and excelling through talent retention, employer branding, nationalisation, learning and development, CSR activities, health and safety, and diversity and inclusion, all of which are key priorities for Vodafone Qatar.

Mohammed Al-Sadah, Chief Administration Officer of Vodafone Qatar, said: "We are extremely proud of our new batch of future leaders who are now ready to take on expanded responsibilities and help us be at our best. Our Qatarization strategy is strongly aligned with Qatar's National Vision 2030. It is focused on developing quality Qatari talent to assume critical and leadership roles where they can contribute to the country's overall development. We strive to provide our Qatari talent with all the support needed to enable their effective contribution to the implementation of the National Vision 2030 and the continuous success of Vodafone Qatar by bringing the best career development and training practices from all over the world to Qatar to provide unmatched career opportunities in-line with the Vodafone Way. Hence, we offered a great opportunity through ILM certification as part of a customized, Qatari focused development program."

The ILM Level 2 Award or Certificate in Leadership and Team Skills aims to give practicing or potential team leaders the foundation necessary for formal development in such a role. The course both develops basic leadership skills, and assists delegates to gain the essential knowledge required at this level.

Al-Sadah continued: "We want to be an admired company. Admired by our customers, our shareholders, the people we work with and the communities where we work. We launched The Vodafone Way in 2009 to help us achieve this."

"Our Vodafone slogan is 'Power to you' and this is how we do things at Vodafone and it makes us unique. It is our empowering employer brand which is what makes us stand out from the rest. It helps us achieve our business objectives, deliver to our customers and realise our ambition to be a truly admired company. Over the last three years, we've held numerous workshops to create a common understanding across the Vodafone leadership population of how it looks and feels to work and lead in The Vodafone Way and this is the workplace culture we bring to our talent."

The Vodafone Way is underlined by the following key traits: every Vodafone talent must be customer-obsessed; innovation hungry; ambitious & competitive; reflecting the One Company, Global Roots image; working with Speed, Simplicity & Trust; and being an Admired Leader. Each of these traits then allows Vodafone employees to feel empowered and to achieve their ultimate potential which is reflected in their employer brand of 'Power to you.'

Al-Sadah added: "We're at our best when you're at yours. This is what drives our Employer Brand. The great thing about technology isn't how big, fast or clever it is - it's about the great things you can do by having it at your fingertips. It's about how it can empower people to connect, to achieve things or try them for the first time. This motivates us to put people at the forefront of our brand. Vodafone's Employer Brand is centered on our best practices for the recruitment, engagement and retention approaches we have in place and we firmly believe we are one of the most attractive workplace cultures in Qatar."

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About Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C.
Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C. ("Vodafone Qatar"), part of one of the world's largest telecommunications Group, the Vodafone Group,  is the holder of the Second Public Mobile and Fixed Telecommunications Networks and Services License in the State of Qatar. 

Vodafone Qatar switched on its mobile network on 1 March 2009 and shortly after started delivering great value to its customers with a range of exciting products and services.  Having built a world class converged IP network, Vodafone launched fibre-based consumer and enterprise fixed-line services commercially in October 2012.

Vodafone's objective is to be one of the most admired brands in Qatar and the Company is committed to providing world class telecommunications infrastructure to support Qatar National Vision 2030. Effective January 2015, Vodafone Qatar has become fully compliant with Islamic Sharia practices throughout its business, including commercial and financial operations.

Please visit www.vodafone.qa for more details.

For press enquiries, please contact:
Hala Kassab, Media Relations Manager, Vodafone Qatar
E-mail: hala.kassab@vodafone.com

© Press Release 2015