Group Training Manager
Nasser Bin Khaled and Sons Group
Total years of experience :30 years, 7 Months
My primary work duties and responsibilities as NBK's Group Training Manager included:
1) Conducting regular Training Needs Assessments to establish the training needs of NBKs 1200 staff in its multiple subsidiaries and Holdings Company Departments.
2) Drawing up bi-annual Training Plans to meet the non-technical training and development needs of all NBK’s employees.
3) Setting up an E-Learning project to meet the English Language Skills Development needs of NBK staff.
4) Designing and facilitating a variety of soft skills programs delivered in-house. These courses included Business Writing Skills, Coaching Skills, Code of Ethics, Customer Service, Leading High Performance Teams, Performance Management, Presentation Skills, Supervisory Skills and Train-the-Trainer.
5) Setting up a Trainer Development Program to create a pool of in-house trainers and coaching them all for the expert delivery of their specialized courses to internal staff.
6) Designing training impact measurement tools and using them to assess learner competence in all in-house programs to provide training ROI and assist in the maintenance of ISO 9001 accreditation.
7) Selecting external training providers to run courses that cannot be delivered in-house.
8) Preparing bi-annual training budgets, monitoring expenditure and costing out training to all NBK subsidiaries and departments.
9) Transforming Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi/Fuso (two of NBK's automotive subsidiaries) into Customer-Centric organizations through my self-designed 'Customer Service Fundamentals' program delivered to over 200 customer-facing staff (phase 1) and determining and eradicating the policy, process and environmental factors which created barriers to the provision of outstanding customer care (phase 2).
10) Setting up Onboarding Programs for NBK Automobiles and QAC in order to make new hires feel welcome and integrate them into the company in order to speed them up to full productivity.
As Manager of Communications at my own soft skills training company, The Corporate Development Consultancy (CDC), which I ran with my wife and business partner, my primary duties and responsibilities included the following:
1) Design and facilitate a variety of soft skills programs to CDC''s corporate clients including Assertiveness and Conflict Resolution, Business Writing, Customer Service, Cultural Diversity, Leadership, Meeting Skills, Presentation Skills, Supervisory Skills, Team-Leading, Telephone Skills and Train-the-Trainer.
2) Design Training Impact Measurement Tools in order to assess learner competence in these soft skills programs and so provide evidence of Reuturn On Investment to our clients.
3) Accredit CDC with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and maintain our accreditation status by implementing the 8 core criteria for an effective Total Quality Management System.
4) Market CDC's services to our potential corporate clients.
5) Keep CDC's books to capture data for our VAT returns and then pass that information onto our accounting firm for reconciliation, and annual personal and company tax.
In my first year in South Africa, I authored ‘New Perceptions’; a Language, Communication and Academic Skills coursebook written specifically for South Africa’s Historically Disadvantaged Individuals in their first year of tertiary study. Due to the fact that these learners originate from backgrounds where English is the 2nd, 3rd or even 4th language, they are significantly under-privileged when attempting to study courses in higher education institutions through the medium of English.
‘New Perceptions’ was published in February 1998 by Addison Wesley Longman whose parent company, Pearson Education, is the world’s largest publisher of English Language texts. ‘New Perceptions’ carries the ISBN number 9780636036666, sold over 10, 000 copies, was the prescribed text in numerous universities and colleges throughout South Africa, and only went out of print in 2013.
I spent 6 months researching the language needs of first year tertiary level students and then writing 'New Perceptions' itself. I then spent a further 6 months proof-reading the work after editing done by Addison Wesley publishing house in Cape Town, and then promoting the book around South Africa's tertiary institutions by giving a series of presentations to Heads of English and Communication Skills Departments and their faculties.
In my role as English for Business and English for Communication Technology teacher, and Team Leader for both courses, my main duties and responsibilities were as follows:
1) Write Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Grammar learning materials for each course.
2) Teach those courses over 20 contact hours per week to post-secondary school Emirati females.
3) Design assessment tools in order to determine the proficiency of the students to be promoted to the next level of their diploma courses.
4) Monitor the performance of the teachers in each of the two teams and provide coaching where required.
As an English as a Second Language Teacher at KFUPM, I taught English for 20 contact hours per week.
In my role of an English as a Foreign Language teacher at Bilkent UIniversity, I designed English for Academic Purposes courses for students in the Preparatory School of the university in order to give them the English Language skills necessary to cope with their first year of tertiary study. I taught all four communication skills (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking), English Grammar and Academic Skills which included Time Management, Listening and Note-Taking, Research Report-Writing, Dictionary Usage etc.)
As an English as a Foreign Language teacher at the Turco-British Association, I taught all levels of learners from Beginners to Advanced and from children to adults. I also designed the syllabus and course materials for a Listening and Speaking Skills program, and a higher level Speaking and Discussion course. I was also a member of the Teacher Trainer Team for English teachers at the prestigious Ankara College.
I completed my Master's degree through a combination of distance learning and residency at the University of Manchester. In my final year, I completed a 20,000 word thesis on 'Improving the English Reading Skills of Arab Females in their First Year of Tertiary Study'.
I received a 2.2 degree (i.e. Lower Second Class Honours). In my final year, I wrote a 10,000 word dissertation on The Role of the British Ambassador to Germany in the Appeasement of the Nazi Regime in the lead up to World War 2.