Popular airline Emirates has announced an intention to fill more cabin crew and pilot vacancies with people from United Arab Emirates, but says recruitment opportunities remain for many nationalities.
A particular recruitment drive will involve inviting Emiratis to join the premium Emirates cabin crew role. “It is Emirates’ goal to include more UAE nationals in cabin crew management; supporting not only local Emiratis’ career progression, but also as a way to provide the continuity between Emirates award-winning service and the UAE culture,” explains the company.
The Emirates Group has just announced it is “expanding its commitment to provide job opportunities and rewarding careers to Emiratis”. However Alison Ward, vice president of recruitment at Emirates has assured
Cabincrew.com that there will be continued opportunities for people interested in Emirates crew jobs, who are not from the UAE.
“Emirates prides itself on its diverse, multi-cultural workforce which strengthens our organisation and helps our passengers feel at home, regardless of where in the world they encounter Emirates,” explained Ward. “As a result, at times we have needs for specific languages or cultural backgrounds to support our new routes. For example, currently Emirates would like to increase the number of UAE Nationals in our cabin crew team, but recently we were focused on recruiting Vietnamese staff to support our new service to Ho Chi Minh City. Thus, as the airline is expanding so rapidly, recruitment of UAE Nationals does not preclude recruitment of all nationalities in order to meet the needs of our passengers across the network.”
She confirmed that Emirates is recruiting 3,800
cabin crew and over 300 pilots this fiscal year. “The figure for the number of cabin crew and pilots needed has remained relatively the same year over year due to the fact that Emirates is continually receiving additional aircraft,” said Ward. “Approximately 30 new aircraft will be added to the fleet this year and Emirates will need additional cabin crew and pilots to support these aircraft.”
Emirates is succeeding in its policy to promote local UAE talent, as larger numbers of UAE nationals are seeking careers with the Group on a year-to-year basis. Around 35% of Emirates' senior management, plus 12% of its cockpit crew, aircraft licensed engineers and mechanics are UAE nationals.
Emirates says it currently has “several” Emirati men and women pursuing the cabin crew career path, with the vast majority of roles filled from international recruitment. “The Emirates cabin crew team is a cosmopolitan mix of young professionals from over 130 countries that collectively speak more than 50 languages,” says Emirates’ recruitment website.
A strong supporter of hiring UAE nationals since commencing operations in 1985, Emirates has worked hard to recruit and retain UAE nationals; providing them with the opportunity to both train for and establish meaningful careers in aviation.
“Under the patronage of His Highness Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman & Chief Executive Emirates Airline & Group, the Group will expand hiring to encompass unlimited, qualified UAE candidates,” a statement from the company says.
“The United Arab Emirates has a long history, one with which the Emirates Group is intrinsically linked. The Emirates Group knows that its future success must be aligned with the integration of UAE nationals into all levels of the organisation,” said Abdulaziz Al Ali, Emirates executive vice president human resources. “Under the guidance of His Highness Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates solidifies its commitment to the career development of promising UAE citizens.”
The Emirates Group Nationalisation programme is believed to have a substantial budget, which will be spent on attracting and training Nationals across the organisation.
Key training programmes offered by the Emirates Group include:
• Cadet Pilot and Cabin Crew programmes
• Licenced Aircraft Maintenance Programme (Emirates Engineering)
• National High School programme, covering a diverse range of functions such as; Sky Cargo, dnata's Airport Services, IT, Sales, Group Security and Facilities.
A particular focus will be on inviting Emiratis to join the premium Emirates cabin crew role. “With an emphasis on the warm hospitality of the UAE, the cabin crew role provides the opportunity for Emirati men and women to act as ambassadors of the distinct Emirati culture abroad,” says the Emirates statement.
More than just a role focused on service and ensuring safety onboard,
cabin crew members are primed for long and fruitful careers within the airline, the company says.
For more information about careers within the Emirates Group visit:
www.emiratesgroupcareers
Browse our
cabin crew jobs today.
Photo: Emirates Media Centre