GEMS Awareness Day brings together new teachers and leaders as the group continues to invest in talent, future-ready learning and its long-term growth in the UAE
DUBAI, UAE, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- GEMS Education is welcoming 1550 new teachers into its schools for the 2026/27 academic year, taking its educator community to more than 10,000 across the network and marking another significant milestone in the organisation's long-standing investment in attracting and developing exceptional talent. As the new school year begins, GEMS is also strengthening partnerships with families and advancing its focus on preparing students for a rapidly changing world.
The new cohort joins GEMS following a global recruitment process and will become part of a community spanning more than 112 nationalities across the organisation. The group receives more than 500,000 job applications annually, reflecting the scale of its global talent reach and the continued attractiveness of GEMS as a preferred international education employer.
The new educators were welcomed at GEMS Awareness Day 2026, the group's annual gathering of incoming teachers, school leaders and senior leadership and advisors. Centred on this year's theme, Family First, the event highlights GEMS' belief that exceptional education depends not only on great teaching, but also on strong relationships between schools, students and their families.
Sunny Varkey, Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education, said:
"The future of education will be shaped not only by what we teach, but by the people we entrust to inspire and prepare the next generation. That is why we are investing significantly in attracting exceptional educators from around the world, developing their potential and equipping them with the tools, technology and environment to deliver the highest standards of academic excellence."
"As GEMS looks to the future, our ambition extends far beyond growth in scale. Inspired by the progressive vision and ambition of the UAE and its leaders, we are building an institution designed for the decades ahead: one that combines strong academic foundations with future skills and meaningful opportunities for students to apply their learning in the real world."
"Buildings and technology matter, but teachers remain the greatest investment we can make. When we invest in outstanding educators, we invest directly in every child's potential and in developing the confident, capable and compassionate leaders our world will need."
GEMS' global recruitment model draws on both international and UAE-based talent. The organisation is seeing a healthy balance between candidates already working in the UAE and educators applying from overseas. UAE-based teachers bring valuable knowledge of the local education landscape, curricula and communities, while international recruitment enables GEMS to draw on diverse educational perspectives and practices from major education markets around the world.
GEMS receives more than 500,000 job applications annually, giving it access to a broad and diverse global talent pool. Rather than relying on a single recruitment market, its scale enables it to source educators internationally while tailoring recruitment to the needs of individual schools, curricula and communities.
That scale also creates career opportunities beyond the initial appointment. Teachers can move between schools, curricula, roles and geographies within the GEMS network, while progressing into leadership and other opportunities across the organisation. More than 40% of principal appointments over the past 12 months have been internal, reflecting the organisation's emphasis on developing and retaining talent from within.
This focus on career development is complemented by a sustained emphasis on wellbeing, professional development and employee engagement. GEMS has recorded its strongest teacher retention performance to date, with teacher turnover continuing to decline year on year. More than 3,000 GEMS employees have been with the organisation for more than a decade, reflecting the breadth of career pathways available across the network.
GEMS' people strategy combines professional development and leadership opportunities with internal mobility, wellbeing and employee engagement. The organisation also continues to invest in developing local talent, including through its Emirati Teacher Assistant Upskilling Programme, which has trained more than 330 Emiratis within GEMS.
As the new academic year begins, GEMS is also continuing to evolve the educational experience it provides for students. Across its network, the group is expanding future-focused learning, technology and AI-enabled approaches while maintaining a strong emphasis on academic rigour, character, wellbeing and real-world preparation.
The Family First theme reflects another important dimension of this approach: recognising parents and families as essential partners in education. The initiative aims to strengthen the connection between schools and the communities they serve, ensuring that students are supported not only academically but also in their wider development and wellbeing.
GEMS enters the new academic year with continued confidence in the UAE and its long-term education outlook. The group has secured around 95% of its targeted student places for the coming academic year, through a combination of new registrations and re-enrolments, while continuing to invest in its schools, people and future-ready education offering.
GEMS Awareness Day 2026 marks the beginning of a new chapter for the 1,550 educators joining the organisation, while reinforcing a broader ambition: to build an education community in which talented people can develop fulfilling careers, families can feel a strong sense of belonging, and every student is equipped to thrive in a changing world.
About GEMS Education
GEMS Education is one of the world's leading, oldest and largest private K-12 education providers, with a legacy spanning more than 65 years. Founded in the UAE with roots dating back to 1959, and beginning with a single school in a private home in Dubai in 1968, GEMS remains a family-founded and family-led organisation, guided by its visionary Founder and Chairman, Sunny Varkey, and his sons Dino Varkey, Group Chief Executive Officer, and Jay Varkey, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer. Today, GEMS educates more than 200,000 students from over 176 nationalities through its global network of owned and managed schools, supported by more than 17,700 employees, including over 10,000 educators and school leaders representing 112 nationalities. Having educated more than 500,000 students over the decades, GEMS continues to provide world-class education through four curricula, preparing young people with the knowledge, character and confidence to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Guided by its enduring mission to put a quality education within the reach of every learner, everywhere, GEMS combines academic rigour with character development, wellbeing, innovation and strong partnerships with families and communities. Its graduates progress to the world's leading universities, with students accepted into more than 2,000 universities across 71 countries over the past five years, including all eight Ivy League universities in the US and all 24 Russell Group universities and colleges in the UK. In the last four years alone, more than 3,500 GEMS graduates have attended the world's top 100 universities, over 2,200 have progressed to Russell Group universities, almost 2,000 have enrolled at the world's top 50 universities, and more than 60 have gone on to Ivy League institutions.
Through its expanding network and philanthropic initiatives, GEMS continues to create opportunities for young people to become leaders, innovators and positive changemakers in their communities and beyond.
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