HEC Paris, one of the world’s leading executive education providers is the platinum sponsor for the highly anticipated fifth annual GOV HR Summit to be hosted at Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE, on October 30-31, 2017   Now in its fifth annual edition, the GOV HR Summit is a strategic and the only GCC focused event which gathers leaders and decision makers from the government, semi-government, state owned entities as well as private sector companies. As the region transforms from oil based to a knowledge based economy, the summit provides an opportunity to discuss and debate policies and reforms related to management, training and development of human capital. Dr. Nils Plambeck, Associate Professor of Strategic management at HEC Paris, commented: “As global leaders in executive education, HEC Paris seeks to enhance human development through learning – we are committed to helping shape the region’s business leaders of tomorrow. Our key focus at the GOV HR summit is to showcase how we can continue to play a leading role in influencing the future of the region’s business landscape through our globally renowned, custom programs.  During the event, we intent to explain how we can work with entities from across a variety of sectors, public, private, semi-governmental and nonprofit organizations to co-develop and customise a curriculum that is specific to the needs of an organization. The experiences we have gained from our successful partnerships with clients in the region allow us to explore new ones,” Dr. Plambeck added.  Countries across the region have set out a national agenda for economic diversification over the coming decades, this has posed key questions for both public and private sector organizations.  Ackash Jain, QnA International, said: “The global economy could face a potential surplus of 90 million to 95 million low‐skill workers and a shortage of about 38 to 40 million high‐skill workers by 2020, according to research by McKinsey. Such statistics highlight the important role governments and educational institutions play in working together to address employability and HR issues. “Human development and learning are the key to the future of society and will spark lively discussion during the fifth annual GOV HR Summit. We are delighted to welcome HEC Paris to our lineup of esteemed sponsors and we look forward to our delegates maximizing this opportunity to further their own professional development. It is essential that employers understand and invest in executive education programs so HR leaders can ensure that each team member develops the necessary skills and tools to forge ahead as a leader in their current position.”  The two-day conference will be followed by the region’s most prestigious award ceremony, The GCC GOV HR Awards 2017. The event recognizes, promotes and rewards excellence, professionalism and outstanding achievement of governments, business organizations and individuals who have raised the benchmark of people performance across the region.