Abu Dhabi- The seventh edition of the annual Al Ain Education and Career Fair (AECF) was inaugurated on Monday by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development.
The three-day event aims at helping job seekers and students find opportunities in both the job and education sectors.
Recent findings of a survey, conducted by the organisers of the fair, stated that among UAE nationals, work engagement and motivation, especially for those under the age of 25 and between 25 and 34 years, is the lowest of all age groups — a significant concern since the youngest talents aren’t motivated at work to do their best.
Khurram Saeed, Exhibition Director of the event, said that the three-day fair was looking to get students and jobseekers more engaged, and providing the guidance required to help them. “We are aiming to get students and jobseekers more engaged when they arrive at the show. We have an increased offering of knowledge building and key strength indicator tests at this year’s fair — tools that are widely praised to help people in finding what path is best suited for them.”
“Al Ain is truly an untapped market for local talent, and the general consensus among exhibitors here is that they are all looking to capitalise on that,” he added.
One of the exhibitors at the career fair will be NYU Abu Dhabi and, according to Anna Derchert, Associate Director of Admissions at NYU Abu Dhabi, there are several opportunities open and available to Emirati students.
“There are a lot of interesting opportunities for Emirati students who are going into university right now and who are graduating right now. The UAE and Abu Dhabi in particular, have some incredible projects that are happening at the moment. For example, we have a number of museums that are opening right across the street from us which are all set to open in the next few years.”
“For someone coming from Al Ain that wants to major in the arts, they would really be graduating at the perfect time, and I think that students don’t always consider the opportunities that come with these developments,” she added.
Among the companies and institutions that will be involved in the Al Ain Education and Career Fair are the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, SENAAT- General Holding Company and Mubadala, Global Aerospace Logistics Air Navigation Centre, and Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart University.
