Emirati woman keeps 791 school buses on track in the UAE

Dubai: Emirates Transport (ET) recently promoted UAE national Sheikha Al Sharqi to the position of school transport operations supervisor, making her the first woman in the company’s 41-year history to be appointed to such an important role.

Sheikha will be directly responsible for supervising 1,570 employees, including 772 drivers and 798 bus supervisors. She will also be responsible for the movement of 791 buses making 1,930 daily trips to serve 27,020 students in the emirate.

‘Excited and motivated’

Sheikha expressed her delight to be the first woman in the company’s history to be chosen to perform this vital supervisory position. She said: “I’m excited and motivated to start my new position, knowing the importance it carries to ensure a smooth and safe school transport process for our dear students. I’m grateful for the support I have received from all of my colleagues in the company, whether at the level of operations, supporting departments, as well as senior management.”

Professional experience

The mother-of-four has a variety of professional experiences spanning 12 years. She started her career as a volunteer in several care and rehabilitation centres for people of determination in Fujairah, before she joined the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security.

Sheikha joined Emirates Transport in 2016 as a contracts administrator and was later promoted to a key account specialist before she assumed her current duties as operations supervisor in the company’s school transport sector in Abu Dhabi - to be the first female employee to undertake this task out of 27 current operations supervisors in the company.

She is in charge of overseeing the implementation of transport services, organising bus routes and monitoring their implementation, communicating with customers to resolve any obstacles, in addition to monitoring and following-up periodic maintenance operations to ensure the regularity and efficiently of service.

Pivotal role

Faryal Tawakul, acting CEO of Emirates Transport, expressed her pride in the efforts of the Emirati female employees in the company and their pivotal role in achieving its strategic goals. She said: “Emirati women can fulfil all the responsibilities and challenges in the workplace and adds to Emirates Transport’s rich record of female achievements.”

Emirates Transport has about 26,000 employees across the country, including 5,676 women – 27 of whom are working in the leadership and senior leadership categories.