RTA Launches UAE's First "Professional Engineering Career Path" and "Fast Track"

The initiative aims to achieve job stability and attract Emirati talents.

Dubai. Roads and Transport Authority. 24^th July 2024

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has introduced the Professional Engineering Career Path initiative, the first of its kind in the UAE, providing a specialised career path in engineering tailored to meet market demands and ensure job stability for engineers. Additionally, RTA has launched the Fast Track initiative, which aims to attract elite Emirati engineering graduates with outstanding academic qualifications, equipping them with both technical and administrative skills to groom the next generation of specialists in RTA's engineering domains.

By introducing these two initiatives, RTA aims to foster growth opportunities for Emirati talents by providing them with essential tools for career advancement, enhancing job satisfaction, and ultimately improving the work environment, operational efficiency, and professional standards. These efforts align with the UAE and Dubai’s strategies for Emiratisation, training and qualifying national talents, and enhancing their technical and specialised skills to achieve job stability.

The Professional Engineering Career Path and Fast Track initiatives reflect RTA’s commitment to realising the vision of the leadership, which focuses on investing in and nurturing an environment conducive to young Emiratis and encouraging them to innovate and excel. These initiatives ensure job stability and open pathways for Emirati engineers to advance in their careers within the RTA.

The Professional Engineering Career Path initiative, set to launch in Q4 2024, is unique as it applies exclusively to engineers, offering a clear professional career ladder that aligns with market demands. It provides engineers with promotion opportunities from "Engineer" in Grade 11 to a "Consultant Engineer" in Grade 16. This initiative fosters a competitive spirit among Emirati engineers, driving them towards excellence and higher productivity, ultimately leading to leadership and senior professional roles.

Launching in Q1 2025, the Fast Track initiative targets Emirati engineering graduates with distinctive academic qualifications. The programme aims to provide a comprehensive technical and administrative training over two years, facilitating rapid career progression from "Engineer" in Grade 11 to "Senior Engineer" in Grade 13 upon completing the programme. Engineers will undergo intensive technical and specialised training, mentoring, and job rotation to attain professional certifications. They will be tasked with technical project assignments by their line managers to hone their skills and efficiency.

RTA has set out specific requirements for applicants to the Professional Engineering Career Path, including the required academic qualifications, years of experience, professional certifications, the availability of job vacancies, passing designated tests, and fulfilling the promotion terms of The Dubai Human Resources Management Law. For new engineering graduates, candidates must be UAE nationals, hold a university degree or equivalent in engineering from an accredited institution, have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, and have graduated no more than two years earlier. Applicants should be aged between 21 and 26 years, have completed the National and Reserve Service, be proficient in Arabic and English, meet employment conditions and pass the selection tests and interviews.

It is noteworthy that RTA boasts numerous specialised engineering talents in various engineering disciplines (civil, electrical, mechanical, structural, architectural, computer, and others). RTA employs over 230 Emirati engineers as well as professional engineering specialists working alongside engineers.