Gulf Bank holds AJYAL graduation ceremony, human resources awards
Bank celebrates AJYAL success, honors high performing employees
Gulf Bank was pleased to celebrate the graduation of its third class of its AJYAL Development Program at an exciting bank-wide ceremony last December at the Arraya Ballroom. During the night, the bank also honored staff who have excelled in their areas of expertise, and welcomed its fourth class of AJYAL participants.
The AJYAL Development Program is an iconic initiative developed by Gulf Bank, which nurtures young Kuwaiti talent early in their career to develop them into ‘holistic bankers’ and prepare them for future leadership positions at the bank.
Commenting on this special occasion, Salma AlHajjaj, General Manager of Human Resources at Gulf Bank said: “We are very proud to mark the success of the AJYAL program with our colleagues in the bank as well as our external partners, whose support and mentorship of the program and its participants is part of what makes our program so distinctive. The bank is committed to the development of young Kuwaitis, and this is something that brings us all together and part of what makes Gulf Bank unique.
In the spirit of teamwork and highlighting what it means to be part of the Gulf Bank family, Hajjaj said: “With us all working together to support each other and the AJYAL program, we are creating well-rounded and highly motivated banking professionals for both the future of the bank and for our beloved Kuwait. We are confident that these AJYAL graduates will be making excellent contributions and will be part of the bank’s continued success. Congratulations to the graduates on their successful completion of the program, and we warmly welcome the fourth class of AJYAL.” Hajjaj concluded by thanking Gulf Bank staff: “We are proud of the individuals and departments of the bank who have shown remarkable commitment to their work and to the bank. We were happy to recognize their efforts and thank them for their dedication and loyalty to Gulf Bank.”
15 trainees A total of 15 trainees completed the AJYAL 20162017 program and are working in various departments in the bank. The program includes six months of intensive training covering every facet of banking from the basic principles of banking; financial economics; banking laws and regulations; corporate and retail finance, to risk management, anti-money-laundering, banking ethics and customer orientation.
As part of the program, the top three best performers from the class were selected to complete a fourweek international internship at leading financial institutions.
Iconic initiative that nurtures young talent
The internship abroad provided them with an international banking experience to further enrich their knowledge and understanding of global financial markets and the banking industry. This year’s internship training took place in Frankfurt, Germany at MISR Bank-Europe, KT Bank AG, and ICF Bank AG. The topics covered throughout the international internship included trading in global markets, financial management, and understanding the stock exchanges. The group also had a lively meeting at the Kuwaiti Consulate in Frankfurt.
During the AJYAL graduation ceremony, class valedictorian Sara Abdulhadi gave remarks to the audience, where she thanked Gulf Bank for the opportunity to expand her skills and described the impact of experiencing the program’s international internship. She highlighted the importance of being resilient and goal setting, noting: “If your plan isn’t working, don’t change your goals, instead adapt your plan to achieving your goals.”
‘Induction Innovative Project’
A fun part of the night included the selection of the top ‘Induction Innovative Project.’ Over the course of the year, the bank welcomed new employees and as part of each induction, groups created an ‘Induction Innovative Project.’ They pitched these projects to employees of the bank who voted for the project they felt was exceptional. At the beginning of the evening, attendees voted for their favorite of the top three projects of the year and the winners were announced during the evening. The winning team included: Yousef Al-Ali, Jarrah Kankouni, Yousef Al-Saleh and Jenan Haider.
Rounding out the awards for the evening, the bank’s top performing branches were announced, which are: Al-Adan, Al-Firdous and Salmiya main branch. In addition, Basel Al-Assad, Assistant General Manager Consumer Banking, was recognized with the ‘2017 Human Resources Appreciation Award’ for his commitment to Gulf Bank and his support for Bank wide CSR initiatives and overall support for the training of retail banking employees. Ziad Dehni was also acknowledged for his outstanding contribution to Gulf Bank with a ‘Star Award’ the Bank’s most prestigious quarterly staff engagement award that rewards staff that go above and beyond their scope in creating value for customers and the bank. Also, a number of employees from across the bank received ‘Business Support Awards’ for their contribution to the training and development of new bank staff and other learning initiatives.