Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE

تحت رعاية صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان، رئيس دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة

Supported by

Umer Bhat

Head of People and Culture

RAKGAS

Umer
Umer

Umer Bhat is the HR Director at RAKGAS, bringing over 14 years of HR leadership experience across global organizations, including Coca-Cola, PPG, and Brasil Foods. With expertise in driving strategic HR initiatives, Umer focuses on addressing key organizational challenges such as talent management, diversity, and inclusion, and fostering sustainable workplace practices. He holds an MBA from London Business School and is a Chartered Fellow (FCIPD). Umer's leadership style emphasizes building an authentic, high-performance culture aligned with business goals.

Session Overview
Tuesday, 4 November
13:45
Diversity, Leadership and Development Conference Room A 13:45 - 14:25
Exploring AI’s capacity to advance diversity and development

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to aid in creating more inclusive and development-oriented workplaces for energy organisations globally, helping to drive humanity’s next era of progress. With the ability to combat bias, improve accessibility, enhance decision-making and foster cultural awareness, these platforms are already being used to drive fair and transparent recruitment through blind resume screening and job description analysis. They are also facilitating near real-time reporting, enhancing forecasting and leadership insights in the process. At the same time, AI is serving to strengthen assistive technologies and product innovation, enabling inclusive design and greater accessibility. If harnessed effectively, these tools will strengthen diversity metrics in the energy sector through workforce optimisation, global outreach and metric auditing. As AI’s role in shaping equitable and inclusive workplaces continues to expand, the organisations that invest in and embrace its potential will be among the first to realise the tangible business-related benefits offered by these applications.

Attendee insights:

Discover how the energy sector is leveraging AI to advance diversity and development in the workplace, driving fairer and more transparent recruitment, optimised decision-making and cost-effectiveness.

Thursday, 6 November
13:50
Diversity, Leadership and Development Conference Room B 13:50 - 14:30
Developing the next generation of energy professionals

Training, recruiting and retaining the talent needed to deliver the new global energy system will require comprehensive employee development strategies that prioritise building skills, developing talent, and embracing innovation. By investing in structured training and certification programmes that align with both individual aspirations and organisational needs, the energy sector has an opportunity to enhance employee engagement and future-proof the workforce of tomorrow. Employers that embrace and invest in their employees will maximise their chances of creating cultures in which energy professionals feel valued, engaged, and a sense of shared responsibility. What’s more, the organisations that prioritise employee development are most likely to foster trust and attract talented individuals who are passionate about making an impact. In today’s ultra-competitive recruitment market, these factors are more important than ever.

Attendee Insights:

Explore strategies with the potential to strengthen career pathways, engagement and retention while promoting lifelong learning, developing the energy professionals of tomorrow.

Thursday, 7 November
15:00
Voices of Tomorrow Conference Room B 15:00 - 16:00
View Session
Energy’s talent crisis: attracting the workforce of tomorrow

To transform the energy system, a skilled and educated workforce that can drive innovation in a climate-conscious world is required. As the modern workforce ages, this poses a significant threat, especially as many young people – 44% of Millennials and 62% of Generation Z – see energy careers as unappealing. To achieve the energy transition, businesses must bridge the gap between four diverse generations.

Attendee Insight:

Share strategies on how the sector can overcome generational differences that the modern-day workforce poses to empower the workforce of today and engage the talent of tomorrow.

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