Paper Title
Hits & Misses in Training: High Engagement & Human Capital Value as Target

Abstract
Employees Engagement and Human Capital are influenced by many factors, and Training and Development (TD) has been identified by numerous studies as a major one. This study is focused on ―hits‖ and ―misses‖– the factors that positively influence engagement and human capital and the miscues in training initiatives in the organization. Being a pilot study, this research sampled 22 organizations in the United Arab Emirates. The sample is broken down into 10 different industries. The research approach is purely descriptive-quantitative with a few qualitative observations. From the lens of the organizations’ HR and Non-HR managers, the researcher-made questionnaires were used through on-line Google forms. The collected data were encoded to Microsoft Excel and interpreted using the percentage, mean scores, and ranks. The major findings reveal that only 1 in 2 employees are engaged at work among 22 organizations. High level of engagement (above 50%) is found in the retail, hotel, and motor industries, while low engagement is in the property industry with only 30% engaged employees. Major findings reveal that the more HC elements that are linked to TD initiatives, the higher are the engagement and the perceived HC value of the organization. The unplanned training activities and lack of seriousness in the trainings offered by the organizations, are some of the ―misses‖ in the TD initiatives. To strengthen the validity of the conclusion, it is recommended to have more samples and consequently adopt statistical tools to test the association among variables. Keywords - Training & Development Initiatives, Human Capital Elements, Employee Engagement