KHALEEJ TIMES, Sunday, Jan 3, 2021 | Jamadi Al Awwal 19, 1442
Local talent key for UAE’s digital future
Emirates:
France’s Thales Group is keen to develop local talent in the UAE, with
the objective of further supporting innovation, digital transformation,
industrialisation and local partnerships by nurturing local talent and
fostering diversity.
The company, which provides solutions, services and products in the defence,
aeronautics, space, transportation and digital identity and security markets,
has been the UAE’s partner for more than 45 years.
“Our objective is to further support innovation, digital transformation,
industrialisation, and local partnerships by nurturing local talent and
fostering diversity. As a long-term partner, Thales has developed its local
presence in the country through numerous joint ventures and partnerships. This
has allowed us to expand the local footprint, to be able to adapt and meet
customer needs and, more importantly, to develop local talent through high-level
professional and academic training programmes,” Thales UAE CEO Bernard Roux
said.
In 2019, it set up Thales Emarat technologies, a 100 per cent local Emirati
company to support the country’s ambitious national vision of industrial
autonomy.
“We have set up an industrial footprint through three main axes — industry,
innovation and education — to develop radar and radio communication centres of
excellence, through Thales Emarat Technologies. We are constantly innovating
locally to stay at the forefront of the industry and for us, this means
investing in people,” said Roux.
“Today, as we’re at the cusp of a digital revolution, we believe that human
capital is the world’s most prized resource. Countries and businesses around the
world seek to attract and retain those who have the highest potential in the
fields of artificial intelligence, big data, connectivity and cybersecurity
amongst others. As we navigate through the current global health crisis,
investment in education is a priority for us.”
Over the last few years, Thales has partnered with Khalifa University Abu Dhabi
for the Thales Cybersecurity Hub and have entered a joint venture with the UAE
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the form of the CERT
Thales Institute. Thales has also teamed up with Sorbonne University of Abu
Dhabi for the creation of an industrial chair in the field of artificial
intelligence and the establishment of Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial
Intelligence.
“We are also strategic partners in the latest sustainable education initiative
of the UAE defence and security industry enabler Tawazun Economic Council,
Sustain and Enhance Emiratisation in Defence and Security – also known as the
SEEDS programme. The programme aims to offer international companies the chance
to meet their business and recruitment objectives through job placement
programmes for home-grown talent,” said Roux.
Recently Thales announced a new collaboration with Google Cloud that will
accelerate the ability of enterprises to safely migrate sensitive data between
public cloud, hybrid and private IT infrastructures. Together, the two companies
will offer new capabilities that enable security teams to own and control their
encryption keys while helping to fulfill heightened regulatory requirements
amidst today’s highly-distributed workforce.
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