A Bright Future Forecasted for UAE Economy and Higher Education
Road to recovery seen clearly at NAJAH, with strong government support for education and businesses in heavy recruitment mode
After the largest and most successful edition yet of NAJAH, exhibiting educational institutions and businesses received an extra boost of optimism from the UAE government and various economic reports.
Unveiled a week after NAJAH, the leading education and careers event in the region, the UAE Federal Budget 2010 reinforced its continued dedication to investment in primary, secondary, and higher education with 22.5 per cent of the entire budget allotted for the education sector. The total education budget is AED9.8 billion, a AED100 million increase from the amount given in the 2009 budget.
Meanwhile, The International Monetary Fund recently raised its economic outlook for the UAE, forecasting 3 per cent growth in GDP in 2010. The optimism was compounded by HSBC’s recent survey of GCC firms, showing that the Gulf Business Confidence Index rose 81.4 points in the third quarter with 34 per cent of respondents predicting revenue growth in the final months of 2009.
Inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, NAJAH ran from 20 to 22 October and played host to nearly 11,000 students and job-seekers, a 49 per cent increase in visitor numbers from last year, eager to explore employment opportunities and higher education offerings from 110 exhibitors.
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Education was one of the primary focuses, as busloads of students engaged with officials from leading universities such as UAE University, Abu Dhabi University, and Zayed University. The Australian International Student Accommodation Service, the world’s first student concierge service, was launched on the opening day of NAJAH, and exhibitors were inundated with requests for brochures from UAE students looking to study abroad in Australia.
Richard Olson, the American Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates visited NAJAH in support of the US Embassy’s outreach to UAE students interested in American higher education options, and he was pleased to see strong representation from prominent American institutions at the exhibition.
“It is incredibly promising to see the growing number of American universities setting up campuses in the UAE which further develops the relationship between our countries,” Ambassador Olson commented.
Career exhibitors and job seekers were in a spirited frame of mind as well. Abu Dhabi Finance had a number of vacancies they were looking to fill and used the exhibition to find new talent and meet potential candidates face to face. New company Baynounah Media Group had a broad recruitment drive across all disciplines of the company and received an impressive number of CVs from qualified candidates.
Dolphin Energy focused on UAE Nationals as part of their Emiratisation programme, and was rewarded with overwhelming interest and CVs from local students and university graduates. Khansaheb, the longest-tenured building and civil engineering contractors in the UAE were heavily recruiting at NAJAH to staff their newly opened Abu Dhabi office in Khalifa City.
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“NAJAH has always been seen as a comprehensive exhibition with a broad but focused scope on education and careers, two distinct but overlapping sectors,” said Lucy Clarke, Exhibition Director for NAJAH.
“Our greatly increased visitor and exhibitor numbers this year reflected the healthy and improving job market in the UAE and the emphasis on higher education as a bridge to career success. The event was positioned at the right time, linking companies in heavy recruitment mode with the UAE’s most talented young graduates and professionals.
“We’re extremely pleased that so many of our exhibitors reported strong interest from qualified candidates for their institutions or found potential new recruits at the event.”
Students and job seekers were truly dedicated to finding competitive opportunities that could maximize their skills; NAJAH’s Education and Career Advice Lounge was continually crowded throughout the three-day event. Job profiling sessions and the assessment centre run by AIESEC were also well-attended.
The event also offered 24 exclusive presentations in NAJAH’s Education and Career Forum. Highlights at the Forum included a joint presentation from Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council on the future of Abu Dhabi’s aerospace industry, the Ladies Morning keynote presentation by celebrated UAE filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja, and a professional fashion workshop from style queen Kelly Lundberg.
NAJAH returns to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from 19 to 21 October 2010.