Leaders in Dubai Business Forum sees education system as reason for lack of qualified workforce

The challenge of creating 100 million jobs was heavily debated and all panellists shared the opinion that education systems in the region were a key weakness and not up to international standards and that graduates lacked skills.

Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair quoted an example where he mentioned that the graduates which were being employed had to go through a six to 12 months training before being able to fill in vacancies. "The private sector must implement initiatives to tackle the poor quality of graduates," he said.

Mutlag Al Morished highlighted the high amount of bureaucracy in the Arab states as a factor which further contributed to the problem. "The schools produce masses of graduates with a huge lack of skills" he said and continued that "Sabic sends 400 students abroad to ensure that we have a steady flow of fresh talents joining regularly."

Emphasising the measures which are being taken in Saudi Arabia to combat the education crisis Dr. Sami Barhoum mentioned that the King Abdullah initiative for Education and the newly created King Abdullah University of Science & Technology were steps in the right direction. He further stressed that, "This time around the wealth generated through the oil boom is being invested to help facilitate education, but it will take another five years until these initiatives bear fruits and help ease the situation."

Sheikh Mohammad Al Khalifa pointed out that problems were not only related to graduates but also related to vocational training, which was lacking through out the region. "We have the visions, the funds, and the dedication to create striving economies, what we lack is skilled and educated manpower. What we need is education, education, education" he said.

Sheikha Hanady questioned whether entrepreneurship was an Arab virtue and clarified that it had been lost long with risk apatite due to the prevailing attitude of failure being shamed upon in the society. She further highlighted the lack of innovation in the Arab world "while in 2006 over 450,000 patents were registered in the United State, only 300 were registered in the eight years leading up to 2006," she said.

Further the panellists debated issues including the need for more privatization and the moves which governments need to make from being players in the economy to becoming regulators, the role of private equity funds in the Middle East, the need to strengthen the much neglected economic segment of small and midsize enterprises, and the increasing importance of knowledge based industries as economic driver.

Leaders in Dubai Business Forum 2007 is supported by Founding Sponsors: Citi Private Bank and Nokia; Leading Master Developer: Dubai Properties; Headline Sponsors: Addax Bank, Bidaya and The Monarch Dubai; Supporting Sponsors: Omniyat, Ithmar Capital, Al Barari, Damac Properties and Dubai Real Estate; Official Technology Partner: Fujitsu Siemens; Knowledge Partner: SP Jain; Official Event Courier: TCS.