How many of you had career guidance? Perhaps you had one short meeting with a teacher that you can't really remember. Or maybe your school or university had a structured careers service which worked alongside your academic advisor. Some of you will have had no counselling at all.
In Dubai the picture is patchy, particularly for nationals. Many of the private schools, and most universities, offer career guidance to their students. In public schools, young people generally need to rely on their families or an interested teacher to help them as best as they can. If you are a young person arriving at Getex with 50,000 programmes on offer from 40 countries, how do you make a choice?
Essa Al Mulla, Director of the Emirates Nationals Development Programme (ENDP), will chair a panel on the subject in Dubai from April 24 to 27.
"Career guidance is missing from the UAE education system and if this is not resolved as soon as possible, UAE nationals will face a major issue as they will not be equipped to plan a career path, thus hindering their growth," he says.
ENDP placed 1,504 young Emiratis in jobs, with more than 800 going into banking. Al Mulla says, "Having career guidance reduces the uncertainly about your job search and employment and increases the person's likelihood to stay in the job they have chosen. Individuals who have career guidance are more focused and career driven."
So what sort of career guidance should students get, and when? Most experts reckon a child should start thinking about their career path between the ages of eight and 11 years, even if they change their minds later.
Fuad S. Jasim, Manager, Careers and Employability Services at Middlesex University Dubai, says, "There are many students who do not pay attention to their career as they understand that their role is to be a student, study and pass exams. Family and educational institutions stress on exam results as these are monitored by other bodies." For this reason, he says, career counselling is only encouraged, it is not compulsory.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in the Government of Dubai is currently surveying careers services in 15 of Dubai's universities to get a detailed picture of what is offered to students.
Some have suggested that KHDA should convene a forum so they can share best practices. The exercise has also highlighted an interesting question: Dubai is so diverse, should we "import" our career guidance, or should we work towards a customised model to suit our landscape?
Dr Warren Fox, Executive Director of Higher Education at KHDA, says, "Our aim is to improve career counselling. We know there will always be an imbalance between different schools and institutions, but getting information to students is key."
The Dean of the Practice School and Placement at BITS, Pilani-Dubai, Professor Tanmay Panda, says, "Career guidance is influenced by many things — culture, ambitions, a student's exposure to choices. I find that guidance is everywhere, not just in my department. It goes into the classrooms, and older students pass on information to the younger ones."
After speaking to the professionals, I asked five Emirati colleagues to describe the career help they got. Their message is clear: Professional guidance that opens minds to new possibilities would help our young people shape the future of Dubai. Here's what they had to say:
Tariq Ali, 25
Education: Ahmad Bin Hanbel School; Dubai Men's College.
Current job: Events Manager, KHDA
"I had no careers counselling at school, and I am at KHDA because I saw a leaflet with a list of the jobs available there. My father said when I was a child that I should be an engineer because I liked making things with my hands. When I worked in engineering, I found I moved slowly towards managing events at the company I worked with at Dubai World Trade Centre. Maybe, it is cultural. Here companies send colleges their vacancies for nationals."
Shamma Al Mansouri, 28
Education: Bahithat Al Badeiyah School, Khorfakkan; Zayed University, College of Business Sciences
Current job: School Liaison Specialist, Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau
"My mum, dad and uncles helped me. My school only talked about me being a teacher, but I wanted to go into business. At Zayed, they offered to open a course in marketing for me as I was the only female wanting to study the subject, but I didn't want that. I went to Motorola as the first UAE national to work for them, and ended as an account manager before coming to KHDA. This is a complete change, but I am blessed to have a line manager who believes in supporting career development."
Abdulaziz Redha, 24
Education: Rashid School for Boys, Nad Al Sheba; University of Brussels
Current job: Strategic Partnerships Associate
"There should be one person in every school doing workshops and lectures about careers. Talent should be spotted, not wasted. My career guidance at school started from Grade 9; they wished to broaden my mind. Guidance should never stop, but some companies don't give guidance. At KHDA they said: Where do you think you can contribute the most? We also need to educate parents; schools should hold evenings where parents are shown what is available for their children."
Majid Khalfan Khalfan Abdullah Al Muhari, 29
Education: Dubai National School, Dubai Men's College
Current job: Senior School Co-ordinator
"My father and brothers are in the police, but my hobby was cars so I thought I would be an engineer. In my third year at college, I started work at the Dubai Education Council (now KHDA) and now I have the best of both worlds — I work at KHDA and in the evenings I work at my friend's garage. My family wanted me to be in the police, so they did give me guidance. The best thing would be professional help at school, by someone who knows you and knows what you are capable of doing."
Ahmad Buhumaid, 22
Education: Hamdan Bin Rashid Public High School; Dubai Men's College
Current job: Media Office Co-ordinator
"I worked in summer jobs through my high school years in banks, and I worked through college as a work placement to pass my courses. I did not get career guidance at school, in fact I didn't think about what job I would do. My parents supported me fully, and helped me look for job offers. They taught me it is more important to be happy in a job, than to worry only about the salary it provides. You have to be at work for a long time, so it is important to get help from a professional counsellor."
— The author is a Senior English Press Writer at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority
