Abu Dhabi: Hesham Alyassi wants to land a job once he finishes his degree. But the 23-year-old Emirati doesn’t intend to stop there.
“One day, I hope to start my own machinery design company. The job will help me learn about industry, and then I want to use this know-how to become an entrepreneur myself,” the third-year applied mechanical engineering student told Gulf News in the capital on the sidelines of the WorldSkills 2017 competition.
His hopes and aspirations were echoed by the majority of young visitors who stopped by the international vocational skills competition, which wrapped up in the capital on Wednesday.
More than 80,000 students from across the UAE visited WorldSkills 2017 during the four days of rigorous competition across 51 skills categories. Organisers at the Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Actvet), which itself works to increase the number of Emirati pursuing rewarding technical careers, said earlier that these school visits would highlight career pathways available through vocational skills.
So there was always a veritable crowd of students looking in on the competition areas that focused on mechanical skills, filled as they were with advanced machinery and tools.
“I think everyone would like to have their own company, and I am no exception,” said Mohammad Al Nashwan, 21, an Emirati mechanical engineering student who spent a while observing the manufacturing team challenge and the mechatronics contest.
“I love tinkering with machinery and I am a very hands-on person. So even though I want to initially find employment, I will eventually branch out to start my own firm,” he said.
Aryam Taraq was another Emirati student who dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, but she isn’t afraid to strike out in a field different to what she is studying.
“I am currently studying aerospace engineering, but I also want to go to cooking school. Then I hope to set up my own restaurant to serve up some delicious international cuisine,” the 17-year-old said. She was most entranced by the hairdressing and beauty therapy competitions at WorldSkills 2017.
“Who knew these were such demanding professional skills,” she added.
Many students touring the competition also said it is now important to develop a diverse set of skills in order to thrive.
“I will most likely go on to study medicine, but I also do not want to limit myself. There is just so much competition out there. For instance, I am always dabbling in Web development and programming, skills that I am also interesting in fine tuning,” said Farhan Vaheed, 15, a grade 11 student from India.
A total of 1,300 participants from 60 countries took part in this 44th edition of WorldSkills, including 34 Emiratis across 31 skills categories. Winners of the competition, often referred to as the Olympics for vocational skills, will be announced in a dazzling closing ceremony that will be held in the capital on Thursday evening.
Although WorldSkills Abu Dhabi is the first to be held in the Middle East and North Africa region, it is the largest ever WorldSkills completion since the competition began in 1950, spanning 105,000 square metres and with the attendance of nearly 110,000 visitors. In other firsts, a youth forum and a ministerial conference were also held alongside the skills competition, resulting in a youth declaration that called for education reform and the promotion of vocational skills.
