Middle East Association/London Business School conference promotes co-operation on skills development in MENA region

The conference, which was supported by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and UK Trade & Investment, and sponsored by Chevron, took place at the Regent's Park Campus of London Business School and was chaired by Professor John Stopford, Professor Emeritus at the London Business School and Chairman of The Learning Partnership.

Keynote speakers and panellists included HRH The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG KCVO; Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for Further and Higher Education; Professor Jim Mienczakowski, Head of Higher Education, Abu Dhabi Education Council; Steven Peacock, President BP Middle East & North Africa; and Ahmed Taha, Executive Director of the Industrial Training Centre in Cairo.

The conference was the latest in a series of Middle East Association initiatives in the education and skills sector, and attracted support at the highest level throughout the MENA region. Amongst issues addressed were reforming education systems in line with employers' needs; fostering executive leadership skills; the role of voluntary programmes in encouraging skills development; and opportunities for education and training providers to work with government and private sector to meet the region's skills needs.

The conference was also given a project update on the pioneering Middle East Association/Compass Rose MENA Learning & Leadership Programme (MLLP), whose objective is to develop and deliver sustainable solutions to learning and development in the Middle East and North Africa.

'Many of our members are faced with difficulties in recruiting skilled workers in the MENA region, which is developing at a tremendous pace,' said Michael Thomas, Director General of the Middle East Association (MEA).

'It is in everyone's interests that education systems in the region address the demands of the 21st century. The Middle East Association has made leadership development and education for employability priorities in its development programme, and our initiatives are bearing fruit; our DIUS-supported education and training mission to the UAE in March has led to a number of projects and partnerships being agreed and explored - for instance the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), an MEA member company, is opening its first office in the Middle East at the Dubai Women's College.'

Giving the keynote address at the conference, Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for Further and Higher Education commented that education and training are essential to economic development and crucial to high employment and sustainable growth in ever more competitive global markets. '…in the Middle East and North Africa, most countries have about 60 to 70% of their population under the age of 25…. The Middle East's challenge is to educate a huge number of young people for employability in new sectors and new industries,' he said.

'Across the region a huge number of scholarships are being offered for students to study abroad and I want to say that we welcome students from the Middle East and North Africa to the UK. And we also recognise and wish to respond to the need for effective partnerships with universities and colleges to enable UK qualifications to be delivered in those countries,' he added.

Two new organisations - TVET UK, launched in February, and the Training Gateway, to be launched on 14 July, will assist the UK and MENA countries to engage in mutually productive partnerships. DIUS is also looking to extend its funding of leadership and management training programmes in Iraq.

'In the Middle East and North Africa today, there is a very powerful focus on education as the key to developing the region's future leaders,' said Dr Kevin Dunseath, Director, Dubai Centre, London Business School. 'This conference is significant in bringing together educational specialists from a wide range of sectors to share ideas, to assess progress, and to strengthen professional relationships. It is appropriate that the conference is taking place at London Business School, which last year established in the UAE its first international base. This conference will offer a landmark forum for all those concerned with the further development of world class educational opportunities in the region.'