How the UAE is connecting education to the future of work
Hessa Al Ghurair
Passionate Thought Leader and Industry Expert. Featured in a Harvard Business School Case Study.
The future of work requires the redesign of our educational system and the UAE is taking steps to bridge the students of today across to the workforce of tomorrow.
Studies show that the global workforce is predicted to grow by 230 million people by 2030.
Due to advancing new technology, the rise of decarbonisation and renewable innovation, and the development of advanced industries, the job market is set to drastically change with an estimated two billion new jobs.?
Educational institutions are faced with the incredible challenge to prepare students for jobs that have not even been created yet.?
The looming fourth industrial revolution has experts fearing that we will face a serious talent shortages and skill gap.?
Upskilling & Reskilling
There will be an ever-increasing pressure for the existing workforce to upskill and even reskill, which is shifting learning and development frameworks.?
Gone are the days where acquiring a degree is good enough; we are starting to see a shift towards lifelong learning, according to Professor Ammar Kaka, Vice-Principal at Heriot-Watt University Dubai. ?
So what knowledge and skills do students need to thrive in the future workforce??
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New Education Structure in the UAE
The answer to this question is starting to take shape as the UAE unveils major educational change with new Ministers to ensure graduates are well prepared for the future and they will be re-evaluating how young people are taught.?
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, recently put forward structural changes across the education system that will increase focus on improving state schools and early childhood development.?
This new structure? will operate as one system with specific specialist areas, which includes: the Education and Human Resources Council. Federal Authority for Quality of Education, Ministry of Education, Federal Authority for Early Childhood Education, and Emirates Schools Establishment.?
To transition towards a knowledge-economy, the UAE has demised the section systems based on scientific and literary streams and imbedded a two-track system; general education and advanced eduction. This change will help high school graduates enroll directly into universities without needing a foundational year.?
Connecting industry needs to the education system will be essential for success. One way to do this will be through enabling work experience.?
A key labour reform in recent months allows for those over the age of 15 in the UAE to get a part-time job. These are unlikely to be in specialist fields, but more in customer-facing, practical ones; excellent environments to build the skills and work ethic in preparation for better-paid jobs.?
The world will soon be looking to the UAE on how to reimagine a more resilient and future-looking education system.?
Immigration Manager at Fragomen | Global Mobility Expert | Passionate about Mobility, Tourism & Hospitality | Driving Innovation in Cross-Border Solutions
2 年Thank you for sharing this article hessa. My 15 year old son has asked me several times, why dont they teach us life skills in school? Things that we can actually use in real life and in work life and help us survive. His questions are valid, its approx 15 yrs of our life we spend at school but how much have we actually used of that knowledge in life or work? Its mostly by our experiences that we learned and developed. I hope this new restructure will live up to the youth aspirations and serious work has to be done to rehabiliate the teachers and educate them on new approaches and priorities and set of skills
Experiential Facilitator | CIPD | MTa?Facilitator | Happiness+EQ Coach | IELTS | IATA | ISTD (21983)| Learning Need Analysis | Six Sigma YB | Toast Master | Instructional Design | LinkedIn Cheerleader
2 年Include visiting office spaces and working with us as thier curriculum on a monthly basis , include us too in thier grade sheets as future career shapers , we can create an inter-planetary workforce. #elonmusk is listening to zero down which skilled workforce you will fly along
Transformation | Corporate Credit | Risk | M&As | Advisory | Private Equity | VC
2 年Interesting
Head of Academia & Government MENA
2 年Great article Hessa. Thanks for sharing