Emirati youth employment program sets new milestone

24 new graduates given work-readiness training and job opportunities as part of Education For Employment and Citi Foundation partnership

Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 24 October 2019:   Education For Employment (EFE) and the Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Human Resources Department have delivered work readiness training to 24 Emirati youth as part of the Pathways to Progress programme in partnership with Citi Foundation.

The 50-hour training that took place in Ras Al Khaimah was designed to equip the young Emiratis with communication, customer service, personal development and innovation skills that are needed for their first jobs.

Education For Employment, the leading non-profit that trains youth and links them to jobs across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), launched the program in the UAE last year in partnership with Citi Foundation and American University in Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), training over 20 Emirati young people, and continued the successful program in partnership with Ras Al Khaimah Human Resources Department for the second year. 

The training is part of EFE’s Job Training and Placement Program that is designed to increase youths’ potential to secure jobs and retain them for the long run. Aligned with the UAE Vision 2021 to empower Emirati youth and women, the program is informed by global experts and EFE’s partnerships with 3,200 employers across MENA, the program provides unemployed youth with the professional and technical skills that local businesses seek.

The graduation ceremony was held in Ras Al Khaimah recently, with officials from RAK HR Department, and EFE in attendance. During the event, Dima Najim, EFE-UAE Managing Director, lauded the graduates for their commitment to completing the program. “A brighter future awaits these young graduates who will now be a part of the Emirates’ continuing economic success story. Along with our partners Citi Foundation and RAK HR Department, we are honored to have been an instrument in preparing these graduates for their first job and we wish them all the best in their new careers,” she added.

“The program in the UAE is part of a regional Citi-EFE partnership in alignment with the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress global approach that prepares youth with career readiness skills and opportunities to thrive in today’s economy”, said Elissar Farah Antonios, Cluster Head Citi UAE, Levant and Iraq. “We are delighted that our journey with EFE in the UAE, now in its second year, has both been productive and promising. We look forward to expanding our collaboration to empower more Emirati youth with employability skills and seek employment opportunities for them”.

The new graduates of the program started their new jobs secured by RAK Al Khaimah Human Resource Department, whose Emiratization & Talent management Department Manager, Aamna Alshehhi expressed optimism that the graduates of this year’s program will thrive in their first jobs having been provided with critical skills that will help them retain these jobs and succeed in their new careers. She commented, “The training was intensive and comprehensive, designed to give our graduates employability skills necessary to enable them to function effectively. We are delighted to have been a part of this noteworthy program that supports our country’s vision and Ras Al Khaimah vision 2030 for an empowered youth sector.” 

Earlier this academic year, and as part of this program, RAK Al Khaimah Human Resource Department and EFE offered Communication and Digital Skills training to 21 job seekers who successfully completed their training plan utilizing the state of art Accenture training platform. The platform offered them a personalized training plan designed to match their level of knowledge and they all successfully completed their course requirements. The platform was utilized by a number of universities in the UAE for the past year and recently was introduced to Emirati job seekers applying for jobs through RAK Al Khaimah Human Resource Department.