Al-Ablani: NBK is reserved for ambitious people
KUWAIT: The career readiness program “Tamakan” sponsored by National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) hosted Emad Al-Ablani, GM- Group Human Resources at National Bank of Kuwait, who gave a lecture and answered a number of questions raised by participants, as well as provided tips on the best ways to develop personal skills and capabilities to be well-qualified to navigate their way into the labor market and ensure career advancement.
During the seminar, Al-Ablani urged the trainees to work hard, raise the ceiling of their ambitions, and have passion to achieve the desired career advancement, noting that the development of personal skills and persistence in knowledge acquisition and learning are crucial factors for a successful career and holding leading positions in the future.
Planning for the future
Al-Ablani advised the trainees that early planning for the future, and focusing on looking for opportunities in the private sector are essential, adding that the future and economic leadership in Kuwait will be for the private sector, which will push the Kuwaiti economy forward.
He stressed that there are plenty of job opportunities in the private sector, but there is a need for a specialized platform or employment hub through which job seekers can explore suitable job opportunities in various sectors.
Al-Ablani stressed that the experience of moving from the government sector to the private sector is usually full of challenges, a thing he personally witnessed when he moved from his government job at Kuwait University to the private sector, attributing this to the fact that ambitions are usually greater than routine government jobs.
The founders’ values
In response to a question about the reasons that made NBK maintain its leading position over the past decades, AlAblani pointed out that NBK was established on core values set by the founders back in 1952, indicating that these values remained unchanged and became an integral part of the identity of the bank and its employees. “NBK’s culture is based on perseverance and perfection at work, as well as transparency in communicating with our customers. In addition, respect, solidarity and cooperation shown by our employees are all qualities stemming from the values of the Kuwaiti society,” he noted.
Al-Ablani emphasized that NBK’s executive management and employees are mainly concerned with sustaining these core values upon which the bank was established, as reflected in “I am NBK” program launched by the bank.
Al-Ablani added: “I am NBK” seeks to reward and recognize the efforts of outstanding employees on the professional and behavioral levels, in addition to going the extra mile in performing their job duties, along with showing one of the eight principles derived from the core values of “I am NBK” including: Trust, Consistency, Excellence, Accessibility and Availability, Teamwork, Integrity, Respect, Empathy, and Communication.
“NBK is one family. Our motto is always excellence, which is the main driver for us to be a unique part of the Kuwaiti economy and the private sector, in particular. And despite having a job structure organizing work, all the bank’s employees are equally keen on hard work and dedication, as leaders provide an example to follow in commitment, acting as a role model for newly hired employees.
NBK is for the ambitious
On a question about the prerequisite qualities and skills for joining NBK, AlAblani stressed that NBK is reserved for ambitious, innovative and creative people, as the bank basically strives to maintain its leading position, locally and regionally. To this end, it must look for the human cadres and talents characterized by innovation, passion and having the drive for career advancement.
Al-Ablani highlighted that recruiting the wrong people is costly for both parties of the employment relationship, so the bank selects its employees very carefully, noting that to ensure continuation of the relationship between the two parties, they should have shared values and common grounds, and this is the secret of the bank’s successful professional system.
Better potentials and capabilities
Advising the youth on searching for the right job, Al-Ablani said: “We have to understand ourselves first, in order to identify our strengths and weaknesses. Then, we can market our personal skills and capabilities in the best way. Failure to understand oneself leads to not knowing the desired job, distraction, and lacking true identity.”
This generation has much better potentials and capabilities than previous generations, as we are now living in a more advanced and open era, and all what a successful person needs is to set a strategic plan to enhance his strengths and demonstrate his skills, he noted.