EGA welcomes over 25 high school & university students to industry-focussed summer training programme

Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, welcomed for the summer training over 25 UAE National high school and university students considering careers in industry. EGA’s summer training programme has been running for more than two decades.

It gives students first-hand experience of working in the industry and is particularly focused on students of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. More than 500 young UAE Nationals have participated in EGA’s summer training programme since 2001, with many going on to pursue careers in EGA or other UAE industrial companies.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said, “EGA’s summer training programme is a great opportunity for young UAE Nationals to acquire first-hand experience of working in the industry, and we know it inspires youth to pursue careers vital to the nation’s Operation 300bn industrial growth strategy. I welcome this year’s summer trainees to EGA and encourage each of them to make the most of this experience. I hope many will become the UAE industrial talent of the future.”

EGA is a significant employer for science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals, employing around 1,500 people in these fields including over 500 UAE Nationals. Some 1,200 UAE Nationals currently work at EGA. Over 700 of EGA’s UAE National employees are under 35 years old. Last year, EGA recruited around 120 Emiratis, including 37 women.

EGA is accelerating in-focus Emiratisation, targeting that the number of UAE Nationals rises as a proportion of the in-focus workforce by two per cent every year to reach 48 per cent by 2026. This means EGA expects to hire up to 500 UAE Nationals by the end of 2026, including replacements for staff turnover and company growth.

EGA’s outreach programmes, which include ‘Engineer the Future’, EGA’s Ambassador Programme, and an Al Robot competition for university engineering students, aim to grow the future national industrial workforce of the UAE. Last month, EGA revealed that its Engineer the Future programme reached more than 7,300 students from 29 schools in the 2023-2024 academic year, and over 30,000 since the initiative was launched in 2017.