Zain’s ‘Generation Z’ 2024 graduate program kicks off with a focus on supercharging leadership skills

• Bader Al-Kharafi: “Strong leadership is the lifeblood of any progressive company, and Zain’s graduate program continues to inject the most capable young minds into the organization”

• Six graduates will partake in the 9th edition of the 12-month program, providing a 360-degree view of leadership in an innovative environment

Zain Group, a leading provider of innovative technologies and digital lifestyle communications operating in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, announces the selection of six talented Kuwaiti nationals to undertake the latest iteration of the company’s highly anticipated annual graduate program cycle for 2024. Generation Z is now in its ninth year and has so far developed over 35 graduates with the traits, skills, and cultural awareness becoming fully immersed within and outside of Zain, and contributing to the economic and social prosperity of the region.

This year, the ‘Generation Z’ program will be broken down into four modules aimed at developing the leadership skills of the participants, and training them to have long and successful corporate careers. The four modules are made up of: Speak Up and Pitch Up; Strategic Innovation; Green Skills; and Digital World.

For the 2024 intake, Zain set out to find graduates who were willing to put in that extra mile, who would go above and beyond what is expected of them, who would proactively cultivate effective teamwork and who would become future leaders of Zain.

Bader Al-Kharafi, Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO commented, “Strong leadership is the lifeblood of any progressive company, and Zain’s graduate program is a direct effort to continue to inject the best and most capable young minds into the organization, for them to develop into the leaders of the future.”

“Like other organizations in the technology space, we bear the ongoing challenge and privilege of developing solutions that uplift the lives of the communities we serve. Technological innovation is developing at a rapid pace, and it is important for us to be able to cultivate the people within our organization to understand our vision and mission, and then to go on to successfully execute our transformational ‘4Sight’ corporate strategy.”

Al-Kharafi concluded, “I wish our latest cohort of ‘Generation Z’ participants an exciting, educational, and fulfilling year ahead, and I congratulate them for their selection.”

Zain’s graduate program has built up substantial recognition and standing in Kuwait and beyond, with competition for places in the program is always keen. ‘The Generation Z 2024 program attracted applications from over 200 candidates. Of these, 50 were invited for first-round interviews; 21 for second round; and just 8 were shortlisted to undertake a week-long assessment. Ultimately, just six candidates were selected to participate in the year-long program.

This year, ‘Generation Z’ participants again underwent an intensive assessment and completed psychometric profiling prior to being shortlisted for final interview.

The six ‘Generation Z’ participants are Adam AlShimali, Hiyam Abu Ghazaleh, Khalid AlQallaf, Mustafa AlShemali, Reema Sadeq and Yousef AlManea.

The program continues to seek to foster talented individuals with the characteristics of strategic, technically competent, skilled leaders. The long-term aim is them playing a key role in supporting the company’s growth strategy, which has gained tremendous momentum in the core telecom business as well as in multiple promising emerging digital areas including FinTech, InsurTech, Venture Capital, Esports, the Dizlee API platform, Infrastructure sharing, as well as ZainTECH’s many digital transformation offerings for governments and enterprises covering areas of Managed Cloud services, Big Data, Internet of Things, Cybersecurity, Digitization, and Drones and Robotics, to name a few.

The Generation Z 2024 graduate program remit falls under the “Build the Youth of the Future” pillar of Zain’s Corporate Sustainability strategy and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategic pillar of “Zain Youth” (ZY), which fosters the growth of youth employees.