RTA Celebrates 33 Graduates ’Qiyadi 1’ Program

The Program aims to qualify the second, third generation of leaders

 The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has recently celebrated the graduation of 33 Emirati employees posted as Directors or Managers in various RTA agencies & sectors, forming the first batch of graduates of ‘Qiyadi 1’ Program undertaken by the RTA in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development with the aim of uplifting capacities and skills of RTA leaders to groom them for higher responsibilities in their careers.

The graduation ceremony, which was held at Al Wasl Auditorium in RTA premises, was attended by H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, in addition to a host of RTA top executives and representatives of Human Resources Dep’t of the Dubai Government.

Al Tayer presented graduation certificates to employees who have successfully cleared the requisites and modules set for ‘Qiyadi 1’ Program which lasted two years during which participants have been subjected to a 360 degree assessment at the start and end of the Program. They have also been trained on Self-Improvement Planning and attended Orientation Courses & Forums tailor-made for the RTA, besides undertaking group projects.

In his speech to the graduation ceremony, Al Tayer said: “Qiyadi 1 Program had been launched in implementation of the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to care for human resources. It is a true testament to RTA Strategic Plan which sets among its strategic goals to make the RTA the first career choice of qualified HR. This can only be achieved through raising the competitive edge of the RTA in attracting highly qualified professionals, building a comprehensive employee motivation & retention system, in addition to caring for upgrading and promoting the scientific and practical skills of employees.

The RTA has charted out a comprehensive program to carry out these directives comprising holding qualifying & training courses to upgrade its human resources, and these efforts have been rewarded with RTA scooping the Dubai Human Development Award 2011.

The RTA provides an environment conducive to job promotion and opening up windows for grooming young Emiratis to take up key leading positions to contribute to the fulfillment of the ambitious vision and strategic objectives of the RTA vis-à-vis provision Safe & Smooth Transport for All. ‘Qiyadi 1’ Program is run in association with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development, which is making pioneer global efforts towards grooming young leaders to shoulder responsibilities in business administration, includes a sophisticated scientific review and a systematic upgrading of leadership competencies that help build and shape the basis of successful leadership across the RTA.

“The RTA does not only cater to constructing roads, bridges, various transit projects and intelligent traffic systems, but also qualify and groom human resources to measure up to their responsibilities in human leadership. Leadership competencies act as a link between the organizational strategies and employees. When employees are coherent with the strategic goals of an entity, they will be in a better position to cope with the challenges required by the leadership.

“The RTA is undertaking a myriad of initiatives & programs tailored to upgrade the caliber of RTA human resources. Following the success of the initial round of Qiyadi 1 Program, the RTA unleashed the second edition of the Program (Qiyadi 2) featuring the participation of 40 employees. At the end of 2010, the RTA launched Rail Agency & Serco Co. Knowledge Transfer Program with the aim of qualifying & training administrative & technical Emirati leaders at the Rail Agency and enhance their competencies in operating & maintaining the Dubai Metro, and accordingly sustain the transfer of such knowledge and expertise to future generation of employees. The RTA has also launched a training program named as ‘Leadership’ with a view to educating its administrative leadership on the vital policies, regulations and operations, disseminating the basic principles, improving corporate communication, achieving the business coherence between various organizational units, and imparting the required administrative & leadership skills in the participants in a way contributing to the overall performance. The program comprises two phases; the first is dedicated to directors and the second to managers. Participants are subjected to intensive courses running over seven months and the program covers 13 majors.

The RTA has also signed an agreement with the Institution of British Engineers for training a number of fresh graduate Emirati engineers and qualifying them for the full membership of the Institution. It started with eight engineers five of whom from the Rail Agency and three from the Strategic Planning Dep’t to attend training for 3 to 5 years.

Strategic Objectives

The strategic objectives of Qiyadi 1 Program comprise the leadership concept clearly adopted by the Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP). This program considers the effective management as crucial for the success of the current and future business of any entity. In keeping with DGEP, RTA senior management play a pivotal role in shaping RTA’s Mission and Vision through the strategic thinking & planning, and will shape into a role model in diffusing the culture of excellence through inherent self-motivation and transparency, thus become a source of inspiration, determination and drive across the RTA through commitment to work and sticking to professional efficiency in the public service.

On the same footing, they will also be engaged in sustaining the effective communication, and fostering constructive work relations. The RTA therefore views the improvement and advancement of leaders as a precondition and integral component of any initiatives related to training and development.
Beneficiaries

Qiyadi 1 Program has three-fold benefits; participants will benefit from the skills imparted by professional experts, and will also undergo senior training & coaching in several leadership capacities in order to groom them for shouldering higher roles & responsibilities. The RTA will also benefit from the program in qualifying second and third generation of Emirati leaders, who will implement their knowledge in improving their performance as well as the performance of their subordinates and teams. This will ultimately bring about benefit to the UAE through enriching Emiratis with considerable competencies qualifying them to run their business in a more effective manner, and accordingly become part of the national skills.

Selection Criteria

The RTA has set five criteria for selecting candidates for joining the Program. All candidates have undergone assessment in five competencies; which have been completed long before the development of Competencies Dictionary by the Executive Council, which had been developed for the Government Departments in Dubai. The second criterion is the educational and scientific certificates as well as professional and training testimonials, and the third is the number of years of practical experience in the respective field. The fourth criterion relates to the performance assessment rating over the last two years as the candidate has to achieve the highest rating “Exceeds Expectations Considerably”, and the last criterion is the recommendation of the line management based on monitoring & performance.
 

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Dec 26, 2012

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