Abu Dhabi: Thousands of students and fresh graduates looking for jobs on Tuesday visited an education, careers and training event, Najah, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).
The three-day exhibition was inaugurated by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development.
The training and career fair, which will take place until Thursday, expects more than 15,000 students over the next three days. With the UAE education sector now accounting for approximately 24 per cent of the total government expenditure and estimated at a market size of $7.3 billion, education remains a key focus of the Najah exhibition.
“Higher education is growing exponentially in the UAE, reflecting a rapidly increasing local and expatriate population coupled with ambitious government objectives to develop a stronger knowledge economy,” Khurram Saeed, director of Najah exhibition, said.
Over 49,000 high school students graduate every year in the UAE, according to the UAE National Bureau of Statistics.
The UAE currently hosts 37 international university branch campuses, which is more than any country in the world, and many of which are participating in the seventh edition of Najah.
The fair has seen a Japan pavilion for the first time to promote Japanese education and create awareness about the country’s premier universities and courses.
“We are today celebrating the establishment of the Educational Development Office (EDO) in Abu Dhabi with the participation of 15 global Japanese universities. Our main focus at Najah exhibition is to provide visitors with useful information to fully understand the educational system as well as the attractiveness of life and study in Japan.
“With around 44 Emirati students enrolled currently at Japanese universities, our ambition is to increase them to 500 in the coming five years,” Masako Kishimoto, vice-president of the Japan International Cooperation Centre, told Gulf News.
Additionally, a dedicated pavilion for the US embassy has attracted many high school students, who are interested in completing their studies abroad.
“It is the third time for the US Embassy to participate at Najah exhibition and it is a great experience. This year we have selected the best of American education to meet the needs of students from across the UAE. In 2012 we had over 2,000 Emiratis enrolled at different US universities and most of them had a growing demand for science majors,” Michael Corbin, US Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News.
With the vast majority of employers sourcing talent online today, Najah exhibition also offers a CV clinic for job seekers in order to have a competitive professional online profile and make a good impression on a potential employer.
Despite 68 per cent of employers looking to source top talents across all career levels this year, a poor command of the English language and a failure to customise CVs to the applied jobs are two of the main barriers stopping UAE job seekers from landing their dream jobs, a recent employer survey report has revealed.
For more information visit www.najahonline.com
