Seventh National Career Exhibition to be 20 per cent bigger

The exhibition, considered to be UAE's premier platform for spotting and recruiting talented young nationals, is held every year under the patronage of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.

Sponsored by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Human Resources Development Committee in the Banking sector and Emirates Institute for the banking and Financial Studies, the 2005 edition of the exhibition will be more comprehensive and diversified with regard to the participation profile.

"The far-sighted vision of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of UAE, and his brothers, Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the respective Emirates, way back in the early years of UAE's independence ensured that the youth of this country are imparted quality education and training," said Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry

"Today, I must say that because of that vision, the young nationals of this country have experienced an all-round development. The NCE is aimed at helping these individuals cultivate their talents and expertise, and at the same time ensuring that they play an important role in the country's economic process thereby giving boost to the Government's Emiratisation policy," he added.

The NCE will for the first time witness participation of insurance companies from across UAE. Besides, as in the past, the Government, financial and other private sector companies too will actively participate in the event.

The NCE was originally conceptualized to support the Government's Emiratisation policy and also to ensure that the local youth are optimally absorbed in the nation building process.

Since then the show has had an extremely smooth run and has been constantly growing in size. The last edition, held in March 2004, occupied 1,800 square metres, up 17% from the show held in 2003. The number of exhibitors also went up from 52 to 63.

The kind of response that the NCE invites can be gauged from the fact that the last edition of the show attracted 13,650 visitors.

"The purpose of this exhibition is to relentlessly support the Government's Emiratisation policy and ensure that young nationals have an important role to play in the nation building process," said Mr. Mohammed Salem Al Mosharrekh, Board Member of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

"Since the first edition, the NCE has been striving to create awareness among young talented nationals of the career opportunities that are available in the Government, financial and other private sectors in the country.

The NCE, besides helping the youth of UAE find the most suitable job as per their talent and expertise, is also aimed at assisting employers in the country meet their strategic human resource requirements," he added.

Mr. Mosharrekh further said the fact that the show was growing in size, both in terms of space and participation, indicated that it was well on track.

"The NCE exhibitor retention rate is as high as 90%. This coupled with the increase in the number of exhibitors as well as visitors for the show, indicate that so far we have been successful in achieving the desired objectives," Mr. Mosharrekh said.

The 7th edition of the NCE will continue to enjoy the patronage of key organisations in the financial sector like Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, UAE Central Bank, Union Bank, Commercial Bank of Abu Dhabi, Arab Bank, Dubai Bank, Citibank, Commercial Bank International, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Bank International, HSBC, Mashreq Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, National Bank of Dubai, National Bank of Sharjah, National Bank of Umm Al Quwain, Standard Chartered Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, United Arab Bank, and RAK Bank among others.

Bank of Al Fujairah and Air Arabia will be participating in the exhibition for the first time.

Besides high profile companies in the financial sector, Government organisations like the General Pension & Social Security Authority and the Administrative Development Institute will also be participating in the event.

Participation is also expected from Free Zones and several prominent educational institutions and universities in the country.

"The response that NCE for the Banking & Financial Sector has so far received from UAE's young, aspiring nationals, both men and women, is highly encouraging," said Mr. Humaid Al Qutami, General Manager, Emirates Institute for Banking & Financial Studies.

"Given the diversified and more comprehensive exhibitor profile of the seventh edition of NCE, we expect a higher turnout of visitors compared to the last show. Once again this exhibition will prove to be a complete national human resource development event," he added.

The show will be open everyday from 8 to 11 March 2005 from 10 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm.