Vision Magazine Online Issue 1
Vision Magazine Online Issue 1 Vision Magazine Online Issue 1
Meet the UPC Team People are the most important resource for the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC). Human Resources Manager, Yousef Abdulla Al Junaibi, discusses the UPC’s recruitment and development strategies and opportunities for graduates People are the most important factor in achieving success in any organisation Yousef Abdulla Al Junaibi, Human Resources Manager, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council What is your role within the UPC? I am the UPC’s Human Resources (HR) Manager. In short, my role is to ensure the UPC attracts, develops and retains the best quality and the right number of employees needed to meet our long-term goals and objectives, and in particular to ensure we deliver on the vision of Capital 2030. Why is a Human Resources Department important to the UPC? People are the most important factor in achieving success in any organisation. An effective employee is the basic building block that makes organisations productive. I believe investment in improved human resources systems will result in enhanced performance and productivity across all departments. The UPC Management Team has provided the support to ensure that the UPC HR Department embraces international best practice approaches. Good HR processes can also improve vertical and horizontal communication throughout the business and enable people to better share knowledge and expertise to the benefit of fellow employees, individuals and the organisation. How many staff does the UPC employ? The UPC has over 150 employees representing 20 nationalities. We’re not the biggest organisation in terms of size, but we pride ourselves on being one of Abu Dhabi’s best employers. As a result, the HR team is obliged to source the best quality people to join the UPC. What makes the UPC a good employer? Those who join the UPC are exposed to a multicultural group of experts from many fields – urban planning, urban design, project management, GIS, architecture, etc. The UPC is like a small village where people share their expertise, experience and knowledge to help create a better Abu Dhabi for future generations. This makes for a fantastic life learning environment. People who come to work here find that we have a positive atmosphere, which we encourage. Thanks to the UPC Management Team we’re also a transparent organisation that operates an open door policy all the way up to the level of General Manager. And of course we offer generous packages and benefits to our employees and we recognise and reward good performance. 28 VISION MAGAZINE - ISSUE ONE
How do you find the best people to employ? We look for people with the appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes and we spare no effort in sourcing them. We use in-house capabilities, like the UPC career website, as well as referrals and job fairs. We also advertise for particular roles in specialist magazines and use head-hunters and executive search firms to find experienced people. How does the UPC recruit young Emirati graduates? We have formed excellent relationships with local universities and institutes to source top-notch graduates. We invest a lot of time in the selection process and interviews are only one screening element. We have a thorough recruitment process, which includes in-depth evaluation and the use of psychometric testing to ensure we select the best employees. How do you help Emiratis develop their careers? Recently, the UPC has invested time and efforts to develop sophisticated personal development programmes for all UAE Nationals. The Personal Development Plans, or PDPs as we call them, carefully assess their current skills, behaviours and abilities. The PDPs help us to assess training needs and identify the best way to develop the careers of our employees through a number of different methods, such as job training, workshops, assignments, coaching and mentoring. This also ensures that our employees’ skills and knowledge match our business needs. We’re also willing to throw our graduates in at the deep end and allow them to swim. For instance, some recent graduates will be making presentations to the public at Cityscape Abu Dhabi. Thankfully they are good swimmers! And what about your expat employees? We don’t forget our expat employees; they are a vital asset to the UPC. We regularly send them to seminars, conferences and workshops to improve and share their knowledge and expertise. We also send non-Arabic speakers on Arabic language courses to help them integrate better into Arabic business circles. Are Emirati graduates leaving university and college with the skills required by the UPC? Universities and institutions as well as the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) are committed to educating students to ensure they have the skills and qualifications that businesses need. Emirati universities are producing excellent graduates in the fields of architecture, civil engineering, business management, project management and IT. However, urban planning, which is a core competence to the UPC, is a new concept to our local universities so they do not yet have a specialised curriculum. So how are you dealing with lack of training in urban planning? We have organised a joint programme with ADEC to send graduates to American universities to study urban planning, together with other relevant subjects such as civil engineering and architecture. We currently have two scholars in the USA – one in Michigan State University and the other in Arizona State University. We plan to send more scholars this year abroad to countries including the USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand and Italy. We’re also speaking to universities in the UAE about the prospect of developing an urban planning syllabus. What do you enjoy most about your job? I love HR and take pleasure seeing our Emirati graduates develop both personally and professionally within our organisation, and also our non-Nationals contributing by transferring their vast knowledge and experience to younger staff. And I especially enjoy working in a harmonious and efficient environment where so many nationalities come together for the greater benefit for them personally and for the UPC, which will in the end benefit the Abu Dhabi Emirate. I simply enjoy this team spirit. The UPC is like a small village where people share their expertise, experience and knowledge to help create a better Abu Dhabi ISSUE ONE - VISION MAGAZINE 29
- Page 1 and 2: April 2010 Abu Dhabi Urban Planning
- Page 3 and 4: WELCOME PAGE 5 NEWS PAGE 6 -7 BLUEP
- Page 5 and 6: Welcome Keeping you better informed
- Page 7 and 8: Students Win Acclaim for Green Fare
- Page 9 and 10: Blueprint for the Next Generation A
- Page 11 and 12: Next Steps: The Capital 2030 Urban
- Page 13 and 14: The UPC charrette process will ensu
- Page 15 and 16: ISSUE ONE - VISION MAGAZINE 15
- Page 17 and 18: “Before the Revitalisation Progra
- Page 19 and 20: Home Economics The Abu Dhabi Counci
- Page 21 and 22: A Race Against Time On 3 February 2
- Page 23 and 24: Jarat Lang, Senior Associate Planne
- Page 25 and 26: ISSUE ONE - VISION MAGAZINE 25
- Page 27: the manual, and they will all help
- Page 31 and 32: Branding the UPC Since 2007, the Ab
- Page 33 and 34: Cityscape Special Cityscape Returns
- Page 35 and 36: SCALE: 1:40 SCALE: 1:40 STRAIGHT SE
- Page 37 and 38: The final ‘C’, Community, relat
- Page 39 and 40: Putting People First The focus of t
- Page 41 and 42: Culture and Heritage The UPC bestow
- Page 43 and 44: “We wanted to provide the people
- Page 45: Models are a fantastic visualisatio
Meet the UPC Team<br />
People are the most<br />
important resource for the<br />
Abu Dhabi Urban Planning<br />
Council (UPC). Human<br />
Resources Manager, Yousef<br />
Abdulla Al Junaibi, discusses<br />
the UPC’s recruitment and<br />
development strategies and<br />
opportunities for graduates<br />
People are the most<br />
important factor in<br />
achieving success in<br />
any organisation<br />
Yousef Abdulla Al Junaibi,<br />
Human Resources Manager,<br />
Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council<br />
What is your role within the<br />
UPC?<br />
I am the UPC’s Human Resources (HR) Manager. In<br />
short, my role is to ensure the UPC attracts, develops<br />
and retains the best quality and the right number of<br />
employees needed to meet our long-term goals and<br />
objectives, and in particular to ensure we deliver on<br />
the vision of Capital 2030.<br />
Why is a Human Resources<br />
Department important to the UPC?<br />
People are the most important factor in achieving<br />
success in any organisation. An effective<br />
employee is the basic building block that makes<br />
organisations productive. I believe investment in<br />
improved human resources systems will result in<br />
enhanced performance and productivity across all<br />
departments.<br />
The UPC Management Team has provided the<br />
support to ensure that the UPC HR Department<br />
embraces international best practice approaches.<br />
Good HR processes can also improve vertical and<br />
horizontal communication throughout the business<br />
and enable people to better share knowledge and<br />
expertise to the benefit of fellow employees,<br />
individuals and the organisation.<br />
How many staff does the UPC<br />
employ?<br />
The UPC has over 150 employees representing 20<br />
nationalities. We’re not the biggest organisation in<br />
terms of size, but we pride ourselves on being one<br />
of Abu Dhabi’s best employers. As a result, the HR<br />
team is obliged to source the best quality people to<br />
join the UPC.<br />
What makes the UPC a good<br />
employer?<br />
Those who join the UPC are exposed to a multicultural<br />
group of experts from many fields – urban<br />
planning, urban design, project management, GIS,<br />
architecture, etc. The UPC is like a small village<br />
where people share their expertise, experience and<br />
knowledge to help create a better Abu Dhabi for<br />
future generations. This makes for a fantastic life<br />
learning environment.<br />
People who come to work here find that we have<br />
a positive atmosphere, which we encourage.<br />
Thanks to the UPC Management Team we’re also<br />
a transparent organisation that operates an open<br />
door policy all the way up to the level of General<br />
Manager.<br />
And of course we offer generous packages and<br />
benefits to our employees and we recognise and<br />
reward good performance.<br />
28 VISION MAGAZINE - ISSUE ONE
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