For many, the New Year means a fresh start — looking for new opportunities, redefining career options, venturing into other projects, or stepping out of comfort zones. For some expats, that fresh start happened when they landed in the UAE and worked for companies unrelated to their previous jobs.
A 32-year-old English high school teacher in the Philippines, Fatima De Guzman, landed in the UAE in 2019 and started as an office receptionist. Now, she is the HR and Administration manager of a company with nearly 400 employees. Fatima manages employee relations, recruitment, documentation, and compliance, ensuring smooth administrative operations across the organisation.
Ken Barona, 34, was an IT worker back home. He worked as a cook for a Japanese restaurant in mid-2020, when Dubai was rebounding after the Covid pandemic. He learned new skills, including operations and finance management. He is now a senior management professional overseeing head office operations, including HR, administration, design, and accounts.
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Rodessa ‘Dessa’ Marie Alivarvar, 26, studied computer engineering. Instead of working on hardware and software integration, she found fulfillment as head of a team designing promotional materials for a chain of restaurants. She now oversees the creative process, including menu development, posters, photoshoots, video shoots, and marketing execution, ensuring brand consistency and strong visual standards.
Reinventing and continuous learning
Fatima, Ken, and Dessa work for Dubai-based TKI Group of Company, which runs a chain of Japanese restaurants and supplies Japanese beef across the UAE. The trio reinvented themselves, just as the company owner did when he came to Dubai in 2017.
Takahiro Mogi, 33, was previously a manager at a Japanese restaurant in Singapore, but left his post to work in Dubai, where he became a waiter at another Japanese restaurant.
‘Chose’ is key here because he intended to leave his boss position and work at a lower rung in the food business as part of his reinvention and continuous learning.
“My plan was to open a branch of a Japanese restaurant in Dubai,” Takahiro told Khaleej Times. “But in order for me to do that, I had to learn first about the food service and hospitality industry in the UAE. So, I focused on customer service, learning about the dining experience, and understanding customers’ needs and wants.
“I only worked as a waiter for six months, and that was all that I needed to execute my business plan, find the right business location, and learn the basics of securing licenses and building a great team,” Mogi added.
Passion to learn and grow
By 2026, Takahiro owns a chain of 10 restaurants and operates a company that imports premium Japanese Wagyu beef for the UAE and some cities in Saudi Arabia.
The main driver of his business growth is continuing education. He shared: “Our business continues to grow in a stable and sustainable way because of our passion to learn. When we hired employees, some had experiences different from the job description, but we saw their passion to grow.
“That’s why we instituted the study program,” added Takahiro, noting, “Our employees are encouraged to choose and pursue their own learning paths. Professional management trainers are invited to our head office to provide specialised training to our team leaders and second-liners.
“Medical professionals and hospitality trainers are brought directly into restaurants for practical, on-site training. The focus is not only on knowledge, but also on developing good judgment, responsibility, and personal growth as human beings,” he underscored.
Takahiro’s mantra is to grow steadily and without stopping. “It’s like we always aim to have a fresh start. We encourage our employees to explore other career options within the company and to get out of their comfort zones.”
Value of learning more skills
‘Our boss encouraged us to enroll in technical courses to move past our current roles,’ Ken told Khaleej Times. ‘He paid for our tuition and wanted us to learn more skills. He started the learning program that helped us move beyond our current roles,’ added Ken, who moved from kitchen staff to running head office operations in under two years.
Ken studied business fundamentals, including accounting, logistics, marketing, resource allocation, organisational management, and conflict resolution. These skills helped him run a team of more than 200 staff.
“Organisational leadership was earned through collaboration,” added Fatima. “We grew as employees and team leaders because of our conducive work environment and our employer trusted us. We learned from each other, and we helped one another. We were also treated fairly, and that translated to shared responsibility and ownership of our tasks.”
For Dessa, the education-centered business strategy eliminated burnout and boosted loyalty to the company. ‘We became more confident and productive,’ she added, noting that constant learning helped them take on broader responsibilities and move up the corporate ladder.
Sri Lankan expat Munsith Ahamed, 25, also took advantage of the company’s educational opportunities. He’s a graphic designer but is also learning videography and photography.
Takahiro, Fatima, Ken, Dessa, and Munsith—their story of shifting careers is common among thousands of expatriates who come to the UAE seeking better opportunities. They became successful through continuous learning that led to movement between roles.
They shared their story to inspire others that working harder alone is not enough for success. There must be collaboration, alignment with company goals, and individual professional advancement.
www.khaleejtimes.com (Article Sourced Website)
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