Global delivery giant TNT, which has operations in 65 countries, has seen unprecedented growth in the last 5 years in UAE. The organization which delivers shipments to over 200 countries relies on a well-trained and engaged workforce to sustain this growth.

TNT Express has been continually expanding its network in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and the Middle East. It now employs over 74,000 people and as the market continues to widen, the Express division in the UAE has put provisions in place to ensure that new recruits are also up to speed in terms of language ability.

With such strong growth, comes new training challenges, and a big part of this in recent years has been the need to up-skill employees’ language ability.

The language challenge in the UAE

In 2009, TNT's Express division in the UAE found they needed a way to measure the language skills of their workforce. The Express division is among the world’s largest express operators and delivers over 4 million parcels each year.

The increasingly international nature of the business means it is essential for employees to have a high level of language ability to compete in the global market.

BULATS is adopted by TNT

In September 2009, the organization began offering Cambridge ESOL's BULATS to existing and new employees.

“BULATS is very user friendly and has helped to measure the existing team's language level and arrive at a recognized benchmark,” explains Wasim Javed, HR Director for TNT Express UAE.

Establishing measurable benchmarks has been of crucial help to TNT in attracting the right talent.

Wasim added, “BULATS is also very useful for recruitment. The scores are internationally recognised, which means we know exactly what an employee can do in terms of language ability.”