Abdul Samad Patel is one of the two South Africans who have just completed the Babcock Senior Leaders MBA programme, a Babcock International initiative that brings together about 20 senior staff from various operations around the world to undertake the course as a Babcock-only cohort.
MBA programme boosts leadership capabilities
The MBA, which is offered by the University of Strathclyde Glasgow’s Strathclyde Business School in Scotland, is a three-year part time programme. Abdul explains that the content of the MBA programme involves a broad spectrum of business-related topics and is relevant to any senior manager’s portfolio.
The course provides the necessary skills and knowledge required to benefit the organisation, he says. In addition, it offers an opportunity for participants to forge business relationships with other senior managers across various sectors, skills areas and countries within the wider Babcock International business.
“I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity provided by Babcock. This qualification and the knowledge gained can certainly provide a stepping stone to enhance one’s career growth path,” he says. “The MBA qualification allows one to broaden their skillset, enhance leadership capabilities and learn valuable business principles. It certainly does take a lot of time, effort and dedication to complete a course of this magnitude while balancing family and work commitments, but at the end, it feels truly worth the effort.”
Abdul qualified as a Chartered Accountant (SA) in 2009, after completing his articles at PwC. In 2011, he joined Babcock as a financial manager and has over the years occupied several finance roles within the company. He is currently the finance director of Babcock's engineering division.
