Bridging the Gap: Preparing Students for the Modern Workplace

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – May 6th 2010 - On Tuesday May 4th a group of key stakeholders from the UAE's education and training sectors met in Abu Dhabi, along with education professionals from the UK, to discuss how to provide world-class solutions to help engage employers and students as part of the British Council's Skills for Employability programme.

“There is a gap between what the business sector needs from its next generation of employees and the expectations and skill levels that the students have when they are first employed. This forum brings together people who can help bridge that gap,” says Paul Sellers, Country Director, British Council.

Melanie Relton, Regional Vocational Education Manager, for the British Council adds: “The key to a successful future is to draw on each other's experiences and with over 2,500 professionals from all over the world involved in the British Council's network, these partnerships can only be strengthened by these sorts of events.”

Patrick Groves, International Relationship Manager from Pembrokeshire College in United Kingdom, spoke at the seminar to share his experiences of creating a vocational training programme that gave students the skills, resources and knowledge to be an asset in the workplace. 

Stephan John, Head of Operations of People 1st, a UK organisation that specialises in developing training programmes for people in the leisure, travel, tourism and hospitality industries, said: “We create nationally recognised qualifications that mean every student and apprentice gains the right mix of knowledge and competence to thrive in employment. Working here in the UAE we can share our experiences and make a difference”

And finally, Paula McManus, Head of Learning and Development from National Bank of Abu Dhabi outlined how the bank is working to create a corporate culture of lifelong learning, career progression and personal development. 

The forum generated action points to ensure that education establishments and the private sector work together so that students in the UAE have the best opportunities possible to gain the relevant experience they need to make them valuable commodities in the modern workplace. 

 

For further information contact Sherry Farzami, British Council, Sherry.Farzami@ae.britishcouncil.org.

The Enterprise Challenge

A one-day event organized by the British Council, as part of its Skills for Employability programme. The Enterprise Challenge is designed to complement the students' existing curriculum while teaching modern workplace skills like problem solving, team work, verbal and non-verbal communication, presentation, leadership and entrepreneurial skills to the nation's future workforce. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-zXjs2GQ2k

Skills for Employability
Skills for Employability is a British Council programme that addresses the demand for skills in a global economy so that national educational and training systems are better able to respond to labour market demands and learner needs.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-skills-for-employability.htm

Xpert Learning holds a seminar for Learning & Development Professionals in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, March 24, 2010. Xpert Learning hosted a seminar for Learning and Development Professionals at Park Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The Xpert Learning team included Janine Croft, Managing Director, Paul Michael Gledhill, Director and Co-Founder, William Spindloe, Business Development Director and Riham Khoury, Account Manager. During this informative and practical workshop, presentations were delivered to the audience by the Xpert Learning team on the following key learning and development topics:

• Building the vision and mission of L & D
• Success Criteria – What do you measure?
• ROI calculating practices
• Justifying Budgets – “Learning to love the CFO”
• Doing more for Less – Hints and Tips

The event included lunch and a networking session which allowed the attendees to get to know each other and share ideas and best practices about the industry.

Paul Michael Gledhill, addressing the audience, emphasized on the importance of the ability for Learning and Development professionals to converse with finance professionals using their language. “Success and measurements need to be translated to business impact and return on investment,” said Mr. Gledhill.

William Spindloe, during his presentation entitled ‘Justifying Budgets – Learning to love the CFO’, highlighted the dynamics involved when requesting for a training budget for learning and development. “If you don’t get the training budget you think you need and deserve, you need to ask yourself why. How well did you justify the need to the CFO? Did you put together a robust return on investment analysis? If not, then you will definitely get the budget you deserve, but not necessarily the one you need,” said Mr. Spindloe.

Through these probing questions, Mr. Spindloe got the audience to interact and engage in discussions and brainstorming sessions.

Shabbar Sheikh, Career Planning Coordinator at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority of the Government of Dubai, loved the seminar.

“It was a pleasure meeting the Xpert Learning team and being a part of the workshop. I really feel as if I’ve benefited from the experience and look forward to hearing more from your team and organization,” said Mr. Sheikh.

Ariel A. L. Atabug, Talent Manager at Habtoor Hotels, shared the views of Mr. Sheikh. “The workshop was definitely helpful and I’m sure all of us who attended picked up more than just a few points for our respective Battles of the ‘Budget’,” said Mr. Atabug.

Sonali Bahri, Talent Acquisition and Development Manager at AstraZeneca - Gulf FZ-LLC, found the session very useful and thanked the Xpert Learning team for organizing and facilitating.

Given the success of the seminar and positive feedback received from the audience, Xpert Learning plans to organize similar events within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), more specifically Dubai, in the near future.