Landmark Arabia, the region's leading retail and hospitality conglomerate, celebrated the graduation of over 450 employees from the Landmark Arabia Learning Programs. Of the graduating students, 217 employees are Saudis. The graduation ceremonies took place recently in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. Jayant Khosla, CEO of Landmark Arabia, handed out the certificates to the employees at a special ceremony. Nawal Al Sharif, Landmark Arabia's regional HR manager, was also present at the occasion. Khosla said: "We are extremely proud to have such a prominent number of graduates from the academy this season, given that 217 of the employees are Saudi nationals. As a group, we endeavor to encourage growth, talent, and development in our employees, and through these programs, we maintain our commitment to providing them with skills and resources that empower them to achieve their full potential." Currently, Landmark Arabia provides a clear career development plan for store operation roles through "Path to Progress" programs, which create learning opportunities for all participants, and eventually lead to a career within the organization. Part of these programs include ‘Coach Buddy Program', ‘Al Qema Program', and the ‘LEAD Program' which the above graduates were part of. The Coach Buddy Program aims to select and develop the identified Saudi national sales associates to become in-store trainers through attending a series of sessions which will help them to gain and improve the knowledge and skills required to move to a supervisory roles in the future and hand hold the new Saudi employees in their learning journey. Al Qema Program aims to prepare and develop the high potential sales associates into a supervisory roles, post three months of completion of the program. The Lead Program is a management development program for the store managers and the store In-charge to provide them with the required leadership skills that enable them to manage the team and the retail sales business. Landmark Arabia, launched in Saudi Arabia in 1994, has created exceptional value for communities across the region. Landmark Arabia's retail offerings include 18 home grown brands such as Centrepoint, Babyshop, Shoe Mart, Lifestyle, Splash, Max, Home Centre, E-max, and hospitality brands like Fitness First - all of which are household names in Saudi Arabia. The company has brought international franchise brands such as Funky Fish, Yours London, Stride Rite and more into the region for the first time. It currently operates over 700 stores spanning eight million sq ft of retail space and employs 15,500 staff members, with the majority comprising Saudi men and women. In line with Saudi Arabia's vision for ‘Saudization' and women's empowerment, Landmark Arabia is committed to making lifestyle solutions accessible to communities across the nation. — SG
