GDRFA Dubai organizes more than 120,000 hours of training for employees during remote working period

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai revealed that it has successfully organized 12,0870 hours of training for its employees as part of training programs during the remote working phase through its smart platform ‘Ithraa’ for continuous learning. GDRFA has adopted a number of measures to ensure the continuity of remote training programs, while adhering to the measures taken by the UAE to limit the spread of Covid-19. The training programs targeted 3,555 employees, with 34 hours of training for each employee, and recorded an increase of more than 3,014 training hours compared to last year, at a rate of 75% until the end of April of this year, compared to 42% of the same period last year. His Excellency Major General Mohamed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, said that the UAE has presented a distinguished model in adopting distance learning and qualifying its human resources in different job categories to deal with the rapid changes the world is witnessing. This approach is even more relevant during these unprecedented times that require us to actively engage the minds of our professionals through the best scientific training method. This guarantees that they get a chance for education anywhere, anytime, in line with the vision of our wise leadership, according to which the human element is the engine that drives development. He asserted that these challenging circumstances did not affect the Directorate’s training programs. It continued to provide these programs remotely to ensure ongoing training for employees in order to raise the quality and excellence in work, which is reflected in the quality of services provided to customers. His Excellency Major General Mohammed Al Marri added that GDRFA is a forerunner in developing training and education system, capitalizing on international best practices in continuous learning. He pointed out that a smart educational platform was developed featuring all methods and tools of ongoing learning, which contributed to achieving the strategy of the Directorate in providing learning opportunities to highly qualified cadres across all disciplines. Major General Awad Al Oweim, the Assistant Director General of the Human and Financial Resources Sector, GDRFA in Dubai, said: “In line with our senior leadership’s belief in the importance of the continuity of education during the remote working period, we were keen to provide the most recent training programs for all employees belonging to various job categories. The Directorate has proven its full readiness to implement its plans and directions in developing and guiding its specialized employees.” Lieutenant Colonel Yasser Al Khanbouli, Director of the Training and Performance Development Department at GDRFA in Dubai, added that the training programs focused on the specialized fields, the most important of which are the security and service areas. These are considered the basis of the Directorate. The sessions were followed by a live broadcast feature for educational programs to ensure the continuity and the success of the training process, he said. ‘Ithraa’ continuous learning platform provides employees with opportunities to self-train over the year. It provides all means to address their development needs concerning all functional and specialized sectors at the Directorate. These programs include classroom sessions, online programs, and workshops, in addition to live broadcast programs that allow employees to interact directly with the presenter of the program.