DUBAL honoured by ILM for Training Excellence

Another 109 employees at Dubai Aluminium (“DUBAL”) – the state-owned corporation that operates the world’s largest aluminium smelter using pre-bake anode technology – were honoured during a graduation ceremony on Thursday 28 February 2013, during which awards and certificates were bestowed for completion of various courses through the UK-based Institute of Leadership & Management (“ILM”). The event marked the culmination of many months’ work to complete diverse ILM-accredited courses, all of which are delivered in-house by DUBAL’s Performance Management and Career Development department, through the ILM-certified DUBAL Training Centre (“DTC”). These courses, which are mandatory for promotion, are linked to ILM qualifications at Levels 3 & 4 (DUBAL First Line Management Courses) and Level 5 (DUBAL Middle Management Skills Workshop). As an ILM-certified organisation, DTC offers these structured, ILM-accredited management development programmes for first line supervisors and middle managers; as well as ILM-based workshops that are designed to impart basic coaching and effective communication skills. The DTC, as an entity, was also honoured at the event by Gary Hillali (Business Development Manager: ILM ME), who announced that DUBAL had been granted Direct Claim Status (the first training centre in the Middle East to be granted this privilege), in recognition of its excellent training provision, professional tutorial support and rigorous quality assurance. Moreover, the DTC is among the first training centres in the Middle East to have graduates from the new VRQ2012 qualifications, namely the Level 3, and Level 4 Awards in Leadership & Management; and the Level 5 Certificate in Leadership & Management. These achievements follow close-on the award to DUBAL of Centre of Excellence status by the ILM in 2012, for the second time. The number of employees who graduated on 28 February 2013 clearly demonstrates individual commitment to developing their skills. It also reflects the on-going support for lifelong learning offered by DUBAL management and the dedicated efforts of the company’s Management Training team (comprising Colin Cape, Benjamin Parker and Paul Martin). Further evidence of this lies in the fact that most of the company’s top level management are products of the structured management development programmes offered by the DTC. These include programmes for employees from supervisory level, through first line management to middle and senior management positions; and workshops designed to impart effective communication skills, feedback and mentoring, and other important management competencies. Commenting on DUBAL’s Direct Claim Status through ILM, Sultan Al Sabri (Vice President: Human Resources & Organisational Effectiveness) said: “DUBAL is committed to excellence in all aspects of our business. This includes the skills training and development of our employees, thus equipping them to achieve their personal and professional potential. We are very proud of our long-standing association with ILM and value the organisation’s supportive input. Indeed, we regard ILM as a key partner in DUBAL’s on-going quest to deliver superior quality training and tutorial support, while always linking the learning opportunities offered to the needs of our business.”