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Markaz in session

Markaz Graduate Development Programme continues

KUWAIT, July 23, 2020

Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” announced the successful roll out of its Markaz Graduate Development Programme (MGDP), despite the lockdown that was enforced in recent months as a
means of combating the Covid-19 pandemic. 
 
The programme, which has been running for four consecutive years, falls in line with the company’s CSR strategy that partly aims at developing the skills of Kuwait youth.
 
The continuation of the vocational training programme despite the pandemic stands as testament to the determination and commitment of Markaz to support its stakeholders. With a solid contingency plan that was immediately activated, Markaz has effectively and efficiently resumed operations remotely, throughout the entire lockdown period. In spite of various limitations during this time, Markaz stakeholders’ best interest was placed at the top of the company’s priorities.
 
That said, the current round of the MGDP, which continues to run until January 2021, was made possible with the efforts of the Markaz HR team. Hand in hand to overcome the challenge, the team performed a swift and effective restructuring process to the programme, in an effort to accommodate the change in settings and accessibility of trainees, while ensuring the quality and standard of service excellence was elevated.
 
As a result, a new approach was presented by Markaz trainers, where trainees were continuously engaged on a weekly basis through a series of virtual activations and online courses, with each topic covered over the course of three to five days. Moreover; and with the support of Markaz’s external training partners, the HR team converted all planned classroom sessions into e-learning equivalents, and added select technical and professional learning within the existing programme.
 
Commenting on this achievement, Peter Kelly, EVP Human Resources at “Markaz” said: “The Markaz Graduate Development Programme is one we take great pride in. It allows us to deploy our expertise to better hone the skills of our youth and contribute to the buildout of their careers. We strongly decided that the value and impact of this programme would not be limited by the health-related restrictions on our workplace, and the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak only fuelled our determination to deliver.
 
"With the concentrated efforts of our HR team, the challenge was taken up and connecting virtually was leveraged to provide one of our most successful training programme years to date. I would like to thank our training colleagues for giving the programme a new life, regardless of the circumstances, and all the trainees for their trust in us to deliver a high-quality, high-value programme.”
 
The programme, which regularly begins in February every year, allows fresh Kuwaiti graduates to gain positive work experience and skills at Markaz through an extensive one-year experience, during which all graduates are given the opportunity to undertake and excel at day-to-day tasks and responsibilities under the work scope of Markaz. The graduates are rotated through all departments at Markaz for a thorough overview.
 
The trainees are then allocated to a department for an extended placement. Throughout the programme, graduates receive a mix of direct and online training, alongside practical activities. At the end of each programme, Markaz ensures that each trainee receives a recommendation letter, in support of their future career and job applications, to increase the chances of their further advancement.
 
“As Markaz staff members gradually return to office, the programme continues to run virtually and has also developed into an internal coaching programme for Markaz staff, to further reinforce their skills in guiding and developing the trainees and take the programme to a whole new level.” -- Tradearabia News Service
 



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