First Gulf Bank launches Al Manara mentorship programme

First Gulf Bank (FGB), the financial partner of choice, launched its training scheme 'Al Manara', meant to empower UAE National employees and enable them to mentor fresh Emirati talent. Rightly named "Al Manara" or lighthouse, the programme is a one-of-a-kind initiative launched for the first time by a bank in the UAE and is set to train 30 FGB managers to mentor 90 UAE National employees.

Participants of the programme will receive instruction on a range of different skills, to qualify them to hold the position of mentors. The course will provide them with guidance on different teaching approaches and methods for providing professional advice and support in an effective manner.

Upon the conclusion of the course, participants will be awarded with international certification, following FGB's leading efforts to develop practical solutions to enhance Emiratisation rates in the banking sector.

Commenting on the new programme, Sara AlGhanem, UAE National Development Manager at FGB, stated, "This programme highlights the importance of mentorship and how it will affect both current FGB employees in acquiring leadership and mentoring skills and the new employees which will be supervised and taken care of."

"With our plans to continue retaining new UAE talent, we need to ensure that we provide them with appropriate guidance to succeed in our organization, and in the banking sector in general. This programme will target a total of 90 Emirati employees, and complements all the other training efforts that we already have in place," she added.

Earlier this month, FGB also launched its Nujoom training scheme for UAE Nationals as well. Covering a period of 18-months, the programme incorporates practical training methods and activities and is divided into three phases structured to expose participants to real-life work scenarios.