HH Sheikh Nahyan and Sheikh Hamdan inaugurate Careers Expo

The Sheikhs, who were accompanied by an entourage of VIPs, leading business persons and other dignitaries, were conducted on a comprehensive tour of the exhibition, which occupies Halls 5 and 6 of the DWTC Complex and runs till April 8th. They took time to speak to various exhibitors and examine and enquire about what was available for students and jobseekers at the various stands.

"Careers UAE 2004, is the largest and most widely represented edition of the show which first opened doors in 2000," said DWTC Director General Mubarak bin Fahad. "The exhibition, which this year moved to the DWTC Complex, has attracted exhibitors drawn from a wide spectrum of the industry, all of whom have realised the increasing importance of tapping into the growing pool of local talent and harnessing them into their companies' future growth plans," Mr bin Fahad added.

"With the encouragement and support extended by HH Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Nahyan, the DWTC has once again joined hands with leading educational institutions in the country to advance the growing partnership between education and industry to further boost the spread of Emiratisation in key sectors of the economy," stated Mr. bin Fahad.

Ongoing cooperation between the DWTC and the UAE University, Higher Colleges of Technology, Zayed University and The National Human Resource Development & Employment Authority (Tanmia), is designed tol enable better channelisation of the flow of the best local talent graduating from the universities and higher institutions to the right slots in both the public and private sector.

Interest in Careers 2004 has grown considerably with a surge in participation from both the private and public sectors, who realise the value of the show as an effective venue to showcase opportunities that exist for young jobseekers and talented professionals looking for a change or boost in their careers. This has resulted in a 23 per cent growth in nett space taken up as compared to last year.

The increase in importance being accorded to Emiratisation by the private sector can be deduced from the fact that nearly 50 per cent of the exhibitors at Careers UAE 2004 are drawn from this sector. This increase in interest can be attributed to the extremely effective tournout at last year's event where banks, multinationals, IT and media companies, semi-government and government institutions all spared no effort to take advantage of the increasing pool of highly trained, disciplined and dedicated Emiratis who were set to begin their professional careers.

Largest in terms of participation at Careers UAE 2004, is the Armed Forces, who have taken up a 400 square-metre stand, which forms part of a premeditated move to undergo a qualitative transformation through hiring the right candidates and continuing to pursue their programme for the modernisation.

Alongside the exhibition itself, there will be a full programme of forums, presentations, discussion groups and industry panels, giving the exhibitors more opportunities to target their message to visiting students, graduates and prospective jobseekers.

A specialised forum will be conducted to provide counsel and feedback to UAE national students and jobseekers in an open setting which will feature prominent professionals from the public and private sector, including Abdulhakeem Thani from Al Futtaim Training who will be speaking about the retail trade, Salah Al Halyan of Gulf Insurance talking about the insurance business, Dr. Omar Al Sulaiman from Dubai internet City who will enlighten the audience about Information Technology, Dr Amina Al Marzouqi from Sharjah University who will be commenting about Health and the Community and Khalifia Buamain from the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing who will speak about the hospitality and tourism industry.

This forum will provide students and prospective job seekers an opportunity to interact with the above professionals who will share the knowledge about their careers during the forum.

More than 14,000 jobseekers and visitors attended last year's edition of Careers, a huge increase over the approximately 9,000 visitors to the one in 2002. Most participating companies reported collecting an average of 40-50 CVs in a day, a remarkable number by any standards.

This year's fair is expected to attract far greater numbers, what with the increased career-awareness among UAE nationals and the realisation among local employers of the critical need to tap the best talent available in a marketplace that is becoming increasingly competitive.