NAJAH welcomes students, parents and professionals to opening day

The event also welcomed Dr Hanif Hassan, Minister of Education, who visited the exhibition and met a number of education institutions and businesses which were represented.

NAJAH, organised by IIR Middle East, takes place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre until Tuesday 6 November. Supported by the Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Council, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Education and the Abu Dhabi Education Council, the exhibition covers three major areas: education, training and careers.

"Exhibitions such as NAJAH help students to make informed decisions," said Dr Hassan.

"The careers lounge and job profiling sections of NAJAH means students and their parents are able to research their opportunities as fully as possible so that they are able to make the right educational decisions. This event supports the work and strategy of the Ministry of Education and it is reassuring to see so many universities and businesses represented."

Exhibitors from all three sectors were well represented, with reputed educational institutes, training centres and leading international companies looking to recruit new graduates.

Visitors were able to talk to exhibitors and learn about their organisations as well as engage in job profiling assessments, participate in interactive seminars and speak to career counselors about future possibilities. It also provided an opportunity for Human Resource professionals to meet with students to discuss their graduate schemes. Leading business institutions, such as ABN AMRO, Schlumberger and General Electric, were on hand to provide visitors with information about employment and professional development opportunities.

The exhibition also featured the first day of the Youth Education Seminar (YES) with speaker Alan Patching, who discussed goal setting and time management. Patching was followed by Mary Kobbe who talked about "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens" which outlined a step by step framework for youths to boost their self image, build friendships, avoid peer pressure and achieve their goals.

"This has been a really important day for the education, training and careers markets in the Middle East," said Christine Weaver, Exhibitions Director for IIR Middle East. "The Youth Education Seminar was extremely well received by visitors and we look forward to welcoming our speakers for tomorrow who bring with them a wealth of experience. The number of visitors we have received today has proven that education and professional development is a vital issue for the region."

NAJAH has been organised as a direct response to the growing number of young people in the UAE, which accounts for 50 per cent of the population, and the UAE's continued commitment to higher education and professional development. NAJAH is a three day exhibition for students and their parents, job seekers and those looking to progress through training and HR professionals to access vital resources regarding education, training and careers.

The Middle East HR Summit, which runs alongside NAJAH, also had a very successful and busy first day. More than 50 international and regional HR experts started to share their expertise at the Summit which offers more than 25 information-packed sessions, specialist streams, interactive workshops and the highly respected Middle East HR Summit Excellence Awards Gala Dinner.