Tell us about you, your experience, and your time in the Middle East.

I’ve always been driven to help people learn and perform at their best. My L&D journey began at university, where I led campus tours for schoolchildren. I wanted them to see that university was not just for a select few, but open to anyone.

After graduating, the tables turned. I started working in schools across some of the most disadvantaged areas in the North West of England. My role was to equip young people with practical life skills rarely taught in classrooms, such as managing finances and writing CVs. I also took them on trips to universities, giving them the same first-hand experiences I once delivered as a student. These years taught me the value of creating environments where people can stretch beyond the limits of their own ‘little world’.

In 2018, I moved to Dubai to join Ignite, and the Middle East quickly felt like home. The pace of change in the region is remarkable, and it constantly challenges you to evolve. After several years with Ignite, I spent a short time back in the UK before realising that Dubai is where both my family and I truly belong. I also gained valuable experience at Chalhoub Group, working in luxury fashion and beauty while supporting core business functions.

Earlier in 2025, I returned to Ignite as Head of Training. What continues to inspire me is seeing individuals, from graduates to senior leaders, unlock new levels of confidence and capability. Watching them challenge themselves to grow beyond their own ‘little world’ is what makes the work so rewarding.

How would you describe the culture of your business?

Ignite’s culture is collaborative, pragmatic, and very outcome-focused. We’re not interested in training for the sake of it; every programme has to make a measurable difference to how teams perform. That pushes us to stay practical and aligned with business needs, while keeping a strong human element at the centre.

What I really appreciate is the balance of empathy and accountability. We talk about resilience, wellbeing, and performance inside our own team as much as we do with clients. That consistency makes our work authentic.

How easy is it for you to get direct access to the decision-makers in your company?

Very easy. As Head of Training, I take ownership of the decisions that shape how our programmes are designed and delivered. At the same time, accountability is never just individual. As a team, we challenge, support and hold one another to the commitments we make.

Regular meetings create the space to assign responsibilities clearly and follow through on them. Accountability is not about pressure, but about clarity and trust, knowing that each person has a role in delivering the result.

Ignite is a lean and agile organisation, which means decisions move quickly. If something makes sense and aligns with our purpose, we act with confidence and back each other to deliver.

That agility extends to our work with clients. I have the privilege of engaging directly with HR leaders, executives, and CEOs to understand their challenges and co-create learning journeys that respond to real business pressures.

What are your biggest challenges in the next 5 years?

One of the biggest challenges is keeping pace with the rapid transformation in the UAE’s economy, from AI adoption to shifting workforce demographics and the continued focus on Emiratisation. The skills required today won’t necessarily be the skills needed tomorrow, so our role is to help organisations and their people stay adaptable.

Another challenge is ensuring resilience and psychological safety keep pace with the pressures of growth. Many industries in the UAE are high-performance and high-pressure. Helping organisations support wellbeing while driving results will be crucial for long-term sustainability.

What are the skills and competencies that you would need in order to meet the region’s talent requirements?

Three areas stand out

Resilience and psychological safety - ensuring individuals and teams can manage stress, adapt quickly, and sustain performance in high-pressure environments.

AI literacy - giving people the confidence to integrate AI into their work and ask the right ethical and practical questions

 Inclusive leadership - leaders must be able to connect across diverse teams and create conditions where everyone feels valued and motivated.

At Ignite, we bring these competencies to life through experiential learning - whether it’s business simulations, behavioural profiling with the Jigsaw Discovery Tool, or frameworks like i-act and Red2Blue. The aim is always the same: to make learning stick and to help people perform when it matters most.

About Ben Edwards, Head of Training,  Ignite Training

With over 15 years of experience in learning and development in the UK and Middle East, across corporate and government sectors, Ben is Head of Training, and leads the design and delivery of Ignite’s LEAP Graduate Trainee Program for Emirates Global Aluminium, a flagship initiative supporting UAE national leadership development aligned with Emiratisation goals.

He designs structured, high-impact learning journeys that deliver lasting behavioural change. He is a qualified facilitator of the Royal College of Psychiatrists-accredited i-act mental health programme, and certified Jigsaw Discovery Tool Master Facilitator.

 Ignite Training