EGA graduates second UAE National cohort from Swiss technical programme
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has marked the graduation of its second cohort of UAE National engineers from a Technical Leadership programme conducted in partnership with R&D Carbon, a Swiss consultancy specialising in carbon technology and process improvement for the aluminium industry. The ceremony, held in Switzerland, follows the completion of a programme in which each participant was required to develop an individual thesis and present findings addressing real operational challenges within EGA's Carbon and Port operations.
Werner Fischer, founder of R&D Carbon, attended the ceremony and congratulated graduates on the quality of their project work. EGA was represented by Iman Al Qasim, Executive Vice President of Human Capital, and Amer Al Marzooqi, Senior Vice President of Carbon and Port Operations.
Programme design and aims
Al Marzooqi said the programme was intended to act as a bridge for transferring nearly 50 years of accumulated technical expertise to a new generation of UAE National engineers. He added that the first cohort had already demonstrated measurable impact on operational performance and best-practice adoption, and that the second cohort reflects EGA's long-term commitment to national talent development.
Chief executive Abdulnasser Bin Kalban said developing the next generation of UAE National technical talent is "essential to EGA's future success and the continued growth of our nation's industrial economy." EGA did not disclose the number of participants in either cohort, the duration of the programme, or performance metrics from the first class beyond general references to operational improvement.
The programme sits within a broader EGA talent agenda that includes the EGA Academy, a capability-building and career development platform launched in 2025 to deliver technical, professional and leadership training across all employee levels.
Industrial context and Emiratisation backdrop
EGA is the largest industrial employer in the UAE outside the hydrocarbons sector, with more than 7,000 employees including over 1,300 UAE Nationals. The country's Emiratisation policy, which sets mandatory quotas for national employment across private-sector firms, provides a structural driver for programmes of this kind. Industrial operators with large engineering workforces face particular pressure to build pipeline through structured technical pathways rather than open-market recruitment alone.
The aluminium sector sits at the intersection of several active policy areas in the Gulf. Decarbonisation pressure is intensifying: EGA already produces what it calls CelestiAL solar aluminium using power from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, and the carbon-reduction profile of smelting operations is under growing scrutiny from European buyers subject to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which began its transitional phase in 2023 and moves to full enforcement from 2026. Training engineers specifically in carbon technology and process improvement is therefore commercially as well as strategically relevant.
Internationally, the partnership model EGA is using, combining in-house programmes with specialist external consultancies, is common among large industrial operators seeking to transfer niche process knowledge that would otherwise take decades to accumulate organically. R&D Carbon's focus on the aluminium sector makes it a narrow but credible partner for this particular technical domain.
EGA has not indicated when a third cohort will begin, nor whether the programme will expand in scope or participant numbers.