Jumeirah Group Launches Training Programme To Attract UAE National Future Leaders
Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding, has launched an innovative new programme to train and fast track UAE Nationals to become Jumeirah’s Hotel Managers of the future.
The pioneering plan supports and encourages His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum‘s “Dubai Vision of Tourism 2020” and will help prepare Jumeirah Group for Expo 2020.
The programme offers UAE Nationals the opportunity to join a five-year fast-track plan incorporating on-the-job learning which will eventually enable them to lead a hotel team.
Jumeirah Group President and CEO Gerald Lawless said: “Jumeirah, the leading employer of UAE nationals in the hotel sector, is proud to present the UAE Future Leaders Programme, which aims to increase the number of UAE National General Managers and senior executives. This programme endorses the commitment to develop high-potential UAE Nationals into leadership positions and offer them attractive careers in Dubai’s dynamic travel, tourism and hospitality industry."
"By having more UAE national senior executives, Jumeirah and Dubai Holding support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the targets which His Highness has set for tourism 2020.
L&D Practitioners need to bridge their own Skills Gap to drive Organisational Performance
To prepare organisations for technological growth, globalisation and an uncertain economic outlook, the L&D function needs a much broader blend of skills than ever before. But new research reveals a significant gap between the skills and capabilities L&D practitioners know they need, and what they actually have in-house.
The CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and Towards Maturity, provider of the latest benchmark research on effective practices for modern learning approaches, have launched a new report, L&D: Evolving roles, enhancing skills. Through benchmarking data from 600 L&D leaders and organisational case studies, this new research identifies the extent to which the profession is evolving, what the developments mean practically for L&D practitioners, and considers those organisations successfully responding and adapting to key drivers
of change in the external environment.
The research shows that although the L&D community is more ambitious than ever before, many practitioners don’t have the capabilities in-house to drive the organisational change they’d like to. For example, 87% think that business planning is a priority for L&D professionals, but only 47% think they currently have the skills in-house; similarly, 96% see supporting learners online as important, but just 36% have the capabilities to offer these services.
However, these figures aren’t so surprising, given that a high proportion of firms are not actively investing in building their L&D capability. Over 50% of organisations surveyed said they are not planning on changing role focus towards instructional design, content development, technology, performance consulting and data analytics. This also filters down to the L&D function itself – despite 9 out of 10 L&D professionals looking to improve performance, productivity and sharing of good practice, only 53% agree that there are more options than just ‘the course’ for building skills and performance.
Ruth Stuart, Research Adviser at the CIPD, commented: “It’s very interesting how, as L&D professionals, we constantly champion the importance of staying ahead of the game in terms of skills and capabilities, but don’t take our own advice. In this volatile work environment we need to be agile, adaptive and ambidextrous to drive performance and stay relevant, aligning our work to the wider business.
“In order to do this, we need to ensure that the correct L&D resources, roles and capabilities are in place. Evaluating your team’s current skill base, starting to build on capability gaps, and then making continuous professional development (CPD) an everyday reality are the first steps. We’ve seen that although practitioners seem to understand the importance of alignment between L&D activity and organisational performance, many are struggling to achieve this in practice. A clear line of sight is therefore key, as is being clear on vision and purpose and ensuring all resources are deployed innovatively and effectively.”
The research also highlights a noticeable shift in the L&D role from pure training delivery to a performance consulting model. This means L&D professionals must both diagnose and solve problems, partnering with the business to identify opportunities to enhance performance. The shift also moves L&D provision significantly beyond ‘the course’, and means that L&D professionals will increasingly need to be versatile experts.
McDonald’s has already put measures in place to accommodate these broader roles, with the introduction of a new development programme designed to build performance consulting skills across the business.
Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity, said: “It’s clear that L&D professionals have higher expectations than ever before, aligning themselves with wider business needs and accumulating more responsibility. However, this makes it imperative that we stop and reflect on our own L&D first if we are to adapt and evolve to the changing contexts of work, and the way we support individual and organisational performance.
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8 | TRAINING MAGAZINE EUROPE APRIL 2015