Maldives Association of HR Professionals (MAHRP) has successfully hosted the first ever learning and development conference in Maldives, with over 230 professionals attending the one-day event.

Held at the Maldives National University’s main auditorium on Saturday, the Maldives Learning and Development Conference 2019 focused on finding smart, creative strategies and techniques to meet the current demand and needs of learning and development, to address today’s challenges and to handle the future workforce.

Topics that were covered during the conference include: global best practices in training, supporting a culture of learning, redefining learning ROI, building effective learning and development programmes, learning for millennials, strategies to attract Gen Z workers, retaining top talents, and successful programmes to get new talents on board.

Some of the speakers include:

• Kenneth Kwan: leadership speaker, author and high performance strategist
• Tharaka Appuhamy: Assistant General Manager – Talent Management and Quality Assurance at Aitken Spence Hotels
• Ahmed Saeid: Director of HR and Training at Furaveri Island Resort & Spa
• Ahmed Ibrahim: Head of HR Business Partner at Bank of Maldives
• Mohamed Ashraf: Manager, Learning and Development at Bank of Maldives
• Iyaz Waheed: President of Universal Foundation
• Shia Nacino: Founder of HR Summit Global, and international bestselling author and speaker
• Adam Naseer: Director of Technical Services at Auditor General’s Office
• Emma Jackson: Lead Engagement Consultant for Asia at CIPD
• Dr Ibrahim Zuhuree: Secretary General at Civil Service Commission
• Zuruwath A. Majid: Management and Leadership Consultant at Mindfields Inc.

“It was amazing to see the response from the public for this event and we saw the need of having forums that add value to professionals. MAHRP will continue its efforts to develop the nation’s HR strategies and other related activities,” MAHRP President Hussain Afeef, who also serves as the Regional Director of Training, Development and Quality Assurance at LUX* Resorts, said.

MAHRP is the first professional association registered in the Maldives, dedicated to human resources and people development. The association’s mission is to serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most current and comprehensive resources, and to advance the profession by promoting HR’s essential values, setting professional standards and providing the know-how. It is committed to linking and connecting HR professionals and practitioners locally and oversees through signature events and membership activities.

As part of its aim to develop human resources, MAHRP regularly hosts knowledge share events. The association also organised an exclusive training event in Maldives with world’s leading customer experience consultant Ron Kaufman, and the first ever National HR Convention and Expo.

MAHRP’s main focus for 2019 is identifying key challenges in human capital development and work towards adding value to every aspect of HR throughout the country. This includes a series of activities, including HR knowledge share, best practice share, HR organisational level quizzes, HR convention and debate sessions, as well as inspirational talks with world-class speakers.