GOV HR Summit to focus on “people-first” initiatives and developing the national workforce

The 5th Annual GOV HR Summit, the regions’ leading human resource platform, will welcome a prestigious line-up of speakers including Her Excellency Maytha Al Habsi, Deputy CEO, Emirates Foundation for Youth Development, Ismail Abdulla, CEO, Strata, A Mubadala Company, Fatma Hussain, Chief Human Capital Officer, TECOM Group and Wassem Hassan, Vice President -Human Resources and Administration, DXB Entertainment at the elite Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Hosted under the theme of ‘Turning the biggest challenges into the greatest opportunities’, the 2017 edition of the summit features an innovative format comprising of smart HR spotlights that will facilitate in-depth conversations across a range of topics and industries, more than 20 thought provoking sessions deep diving into every aspect of human capital development in the region with prominent speakers paving the way towards achieving this goal.

More than 100 companies and the regions’ most eminent speakers will participate in the knowledge platform, including: H.E. Khaled A Mahdi, Secretary General, Supreme Council for Planning & Development, Kuwait; H.E. Sara Al Madani, Board Member, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Lubna Qassim, Executive Vice President, Group General Counsel, Emirates NBD, UAE; Eaman Alroudhan, CEO, ZAIN Kuwait; Meshari Al Bannai, Sr. VP – Human Resources, Dubai Airports, UAE; Dr. Mohammed Ali Al Ansari, Assistant Undersecretary of Labour Affairs, Ministry of Labor & Social Development, Bahrain; and Hosam AL Yousof, General Manager – Human Resources and Support Services, Almarai, amongst others

Day 3 of the summit will feature a high impact master-class spearheaded by Mr. Ray Jefferson, Global Leadership Practitioner who has years of experience with President Barrack Obama administration, and has been the Deputy Minister for the State of Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), where he co-led the organizational transformation for a department of over 230 team members with an operating budget of $182 million.

Speaking about the key focus areas for government organizations and HR professionals, His Excellency Eng. Ahmed A. Aziz Al Khayat, Undersecretary, Ministry of Works, Municipality Affairs and Urban Planning, Bahrain said, “

With the challenges around the world, from political turbulence, economic uncertainty, up to scarcity of resources, government and non-government organizations continuously strive to come up with more viable approaches of doing business. Oftentimes they focus more on cost-saving, cost-efficiency, or cost-recovery as it is undeniable that business sustainability heavily depends on the availability of funds. Other organizations have also realized the critical importance of a more integrated approach to human capital development as the means to creating a sustainable workforce, performance improvement, and business continuity. Unfortunately, some of these organizations are not equipped with the appropriate tools, accurate data, or even the knowledge to effectively formulate strategies or development plans, thus their enthusiasm has turned into frustration and scepticism where some have started to question the relevance of a very important system in an organization.

The opening CEO panel discussion will feature chief executives from across the GCC to discuss the role of HR as a strategic business partner who manage the most valuable assets of the organization – “its human capital” 

Abdul Malik Al Balushi, CEO of Oman Post  commented, “Human capital transformation in the public sector is critically dependent on developing new skills, changing deep-rooted behaviours and dealing with the uncertainty and conflict that can arise as a result. Unless HR leaders and key decision makers are involved at the core of this process to ensure the key people management issues are addressed, we could see this creating a backlog in the roll out of plans.”

Emphasizing on “A Changing generation and changing workforce – Managing their challenges expectations” and building on the global conversation surrounding millennial and Gen Z engagement in the workplace, Her Excellency Maytha Al Habsi, Deputy CEO of The Emirates Foundation for Youth Development commented  “Youth inclusion in the development process is a key driver of economic progress and sustainable development in any nation.  In the UAE, and the Arab World, where youth forms a significant percentage of the overall population; ensuring that their voice is heard at a policy level, is all the more critical.

Speaking about summit, Ackash Jain, Director, QnA International said, “The GOV HR Summit brings together the sharpest minds in human resources, professional development and people management, to create an essential agenda that will arm delegates with the intelligence and insights they need to contribute to the development of the GCC’s Knowledge Economy. The fifth edition of the Summit will serve as a high-level, knowledge-sharing platform, bringing together top government leaders and decision makers from across the GCC to share, discuss and showcase the breakthroughs they have achieved.”

The two-day conference will end with the region’s most prestigious award ceremony, The GCC GOV HR Awards 2017 that recognizes, promotes and rewards excellence, professionalism and outstanding achievement of governments, business organizations and individuals who have raised the benchmark of people performance across the region.