Aliya Altahri, Emiratisation Manager at Wood, shares how the business is going beyond recruitment to create an environment where Emirati talent can develop their skills, build meaningful professional relationships and realise their long-term career ambitions.
The UAE's ambitions for its national workforce extend far beyond increasing the number of Emiratis in employment. The focus is on creating meaningful career pathways, giving people opportunities to develop their skills, gain experience and progress into broader roles. For businesses operating in the UAE, the challenge and opportunity lie in supporting that growth while helping to build the next generation of national talent.
Creating the conditions for long-term success
In a technically focused industry such as engineering and energy, development is often centred on the technical knowledge and competencies people need to perform their roles. However, as careers progress and responsibilities grow, transferable soft skills such as communication, collaboration and relationship building become just as important, particularly for those moving into leadership positions.
Building these capabilities alongside technical expertise helps people develop the confidence and skills needed to take on new challenges throughout their careers. Managers play an important role in this journey, providing coaching, recognising where support is needed and creating opportunities for colleagues to continue learning and progressing.
In May, Wood received a Nafis Award in the medium-sized private-sector entity category, recognising our achievement of Emiratisation targets in the UAE. It's encouraging to have that work recognised, but what matters most is how we continue to build on it.
Why belonging matters as much as development
Across our UAE offices, we have been considering how we can give our Emirati colleagues more opportunities to connect, share experiences and learn from one another across Wood. One example is Multaqa, which means "a place of gathering" in Arabic. Launched in our Sharjah office, it brings UAE national employees together to develop their soft skills, build relationships and support one another's development. The feedback has been very positive, and we hope to extend the initiative to our other UAE offices.
Our Wasel (a word meaning 'to connect' in Arabic) programme offers another opportunity to learn from colleagues' experiences. Its first session, From Graduate to Leader, featured Ahmed Saleh, Vice President Growth and Development, sharing his professional journey and the lessons he's learned along the way. Hearing how others have navigated their careers can offer a different perspective on what's possible and help colleagues think about their own ambitions.
These initiatives are valuable because development doesn't happen in isolation. Alongside training and experience, people benefit from having relationships they can draw on, opportunities to exchange ideas and colleagues who can share what they've learned. Creating that space is one way we can help our Emirati workforce feel more connected to the wider business and supported in their careers.
But development also means having the opportunity to put those skills into practice and take on greater responsibility. We're seeing this through Sands of Success, a programme which brings colleagues together to recognises the individual successes of our teams across the UAE. Since the start of 2026, this programme has been managed and run entirely by young UAE nationals. The programme has been entrusted to colleagues who can shape its direction and bring their own ideas to its future. For me, this is an important example of what investing in national talent can look like. It's one thing to give people the training and support they need to develop; it's another to give them the trust and responsibility to lead, make decisions and influence the work around them. Those opportunities allow people to build experience, demonstrate their capabilities and make a wider contribution to the business.
Creating a workplace where careers can grow
Today, 173 UAE nationals work across Wood's UAE operations. Of these, 81 have been with the business for more than a year, including 40 who have reached the two-year milestone. These figures give us one measure of our progress, but they also remind us that recruitment is only part of the picture. Building a sustainable national workforce means creating an environment where people want to stay, can continue to develop and have opportunities to progress.
The UAE has ambitious plans for its national workforce, and businesses like ours have a role to play in making those ambitions a reality. That means continuing to invest in skills, creating opportunities for people to gain experience and ensuring Emirati colleagues can contribute at every stage of their careers. If we can create the right environment for Emirati talent to grow and succeed, we're not only supporting individual careers; we're helping build the skills and expertise that will serve the UAE for years to come.