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Even when there was just a hint of recovery within the global aviation industry late last year, Emirates consistently opened up recruitment drives every month or so. This month, from September 20th to 22nd, the Gulf carrier returns to the United Arab Emirates Career Fair with yet another expansion portfolio of job opportunities in aviation.

And as always, Emirates will open up at least 500 job positions ranging from entry-level to graduate. The airline will also offer an internship program that will allow recent Emirati school graduates to gain practical experience across the airline's various departments, which aligns with the theme of 'The Future of Work' for this year's career fair.

Flying from school toward Emirates

Considered the apparent employer of choice within the UAE, Emirates has constantly been scouting for raw or experienced talent to join its airline crew positions. However, this is relatively one of the rarer times when the airline is opening up several other places for fresh school graduates.

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman of the Emirates Group, highlighted the significance of this relatively rarer recruitment opportunity by saying:

“The Emirates Group remains dedicated to investing in local talent through recruitment and development. Every opportunity we present promises a well-rounded career and a secure future for UAE Nationals. Our UAE National community within the group has grown. We’ve also introduced two new graduate programs to give UAE Nationals wider options and growth in new career paths."

Since the minimum age requirement for aviation jobs is 18 years old, Emirati High School Graduates are presented with more job opportunities such as:

• National Cadet Pilot Programme
• Aircraft Maintenance Engineer License Programme
• National Scholarship Programmes
• National Cabin Crew Programme
• Customer Service Professionals

On the other hand, Emirati University Graduates are being offered slightly fewer but more specialized opportunities such as:

• National Graduate Programme
• Technology (IT) Graduate Programme
• Senior Software Engineer

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Training under Emirates

While the positions might sound daunting for fresh graduates stepping into the workforce, successful applicants will be taken care of as they receive on-the-job and classroom training to integrate them effectively into their new job roles. Al-Maktoum emphasized this point by continuing:

"Through programs, training, and guided development plans, we are always looking at new ways to recruit, retain and develop UAE Nationals. We are dedicated to creating a work environment that fosters learning, adaptation, and advancement, based on your desire to realize your full potential and contribute to a better Dubai for all."

An example would be how successful applicants for the National Cadet Pilot Programme will undergo training in the Emirates Flight Training Academy. The duration of training will last approximately four years, covering three main phases, the foundation phase, the flight training phase, and the conversion and line training phase. Upon completion of the third phase, the pilot trainees would be ready to fly with the airline.

National Cabin Crew Programme candidates will undergo a 7-week Ab-initio training course before qualifying as an Emirates cabin crew and flying alongside the airline's flight crew to the many destinations across its route network. Newly-joined Customer Service Professionals will undergo 12 months of extensive training that sharpens their soft and technical skills, such as systems training and grooming.

Bottom line

Given the vast number of recruitment drives it has opened to date, Emirates has quickly strengthened its workforce by several thousand at least. As the year-end peak travel season approaches, Emirates is certainly busy, and will need the additional workforce with the earlier reinstatement of the Airbus A380s to Perth and its new codeshare partnership with United Airlines.