Tanmia partners with Ministry of Education, ENDP, Sharjah HR Directorate and Hotcourses for higher education guide

The signing of this partnership agreement between Tanmia, the Ministry of Education, Emirates National Development Program (ENDP), Human Resources Directorate-Government of Sharjah and Hotcourses Middle East, follows the launch of a career planning and higher education guide for UAE National students.

The guide, named 'The National 'Next Step' Further & Higher Education Guide' emphasises the significance of decision making and the importance of making the right higher education choice to ensure a successful career path. The agreement, signed by Tanmia with its partners at a ceremony held in Tanmia's offices in Al Nahda, Dubai, calls for cooperation from all parties for promoting the guide and maximising its benefits to UAE National students.

The guide, to be released later this year for enrolments to programs in 2008, contains various career planning and higher education options available to UAE National students, and highlights several career choices and employment avenues. It also has details of various scholarships that are available for UAE National students who are keen to pursue education after high school and/or college.

'The rapidly changing business environment and the increased adoption of technology have created new streams of education and opened up employment opportunities for UAE Nationals. We commend the efforts of our partners for bringing out this guide, which specifically aims to familiarise UAE National students about latest academic courses and new job avenues. We will extend our total support to the Ministry to ensure the success of this guide,' said Ms. Feddah Lootah, Acting Director General of Tanmia.

Dr. Ahmed Hussain Al Khayat, Director of the Department of Social & Psychological Welfare at the Ministry of Education, said, 'This agreement is a major step forward for this department with regard to its relation with the principal partners concerned with the development of academic and professional guidance services in the UAE. It also underlines the efforts of the Ministry of Education to cooperate with all institutions that deal with students, especially in the career guidance and planning field.'

'This level of cooperation in bringing out this guide will give students the opportunity to benefit from several career and employment choices introduced by higher education institutions in the UAE,' he added.

Azzah Al Sharhan, Director of ENDP said: 'The UAE Nationals still need to be offered more adequate career counseling based on the market needs, especially in the private sector. Thus, we at ENDP, believe there is a persistent need to fill the gap, and provide the youth with the latest information on the market trends, job requirements and opportunities. We believe that it is our duty to support this initiative for the benefit of the young UAE Nationals and the country as a whole.'

Steven Vanson, Managing Director of Hotcourses Middle East said, 'Hotcourses Middle East is delighted to work with our esteemed partners. We share a common objective to provide quality and interesting information in a very reader-friendly guide and to also deliver the guide directly to students, thus helping them in their decision making process. It is very exciting and I hope we can all build upon this relationship in the years to come.'

Hanan Al Jurwan, Manager, HR Directorate -Government of Sharjah, said, 'Through this partnership we aim to support and work together with various parties who are keen on assisting students choose the right career path and also helping them fully understand the UAE job market, both in the private and public sectors. This guide will also help students choose the best higher education option or job, depending on their area of interest and aptitude, and eventually allowing them to achieve their career objectives as planned.'

Tanmia will work closely with other parties to the agreement to promote the guide using various marketing channels, distribute the guide to private and public schools in the country, promote the guide during exhibitions and events, and convey the importance of the guide to both education institutions and students.