Sheikh Sultan opens National Career Exhibition at Expo Centre Sharjah

The four-day exhibition is UAE's premier platform for spotting and recruiting talented young nationals.

Present at the opening ceremony were Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mohammed Salem Al Mosaharrekh, Board Member, Expo Centre Sharjah; Mr Fasahat Ali Khan, Acting Director General, Expo Centre Sharjah; top Government officials and other dignitaries.

Mr Al Midfa, in his speech, thanked His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi for his active support to the event.

"The quality of human resources is the key factor that shapes all organisations. Recognising this way back in the early years, the late H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan actively encouraged the overall development of UAE's youth, laying emphasis on their education and training."

"Today, thanks to the educational facilities and the whole-hearted support from the country's leaders, the national youth is well-equipped to be part of the huge development the nation is witnessing," he said.

The exhibition will complement the Education & Vocation Counselling Show already under way at Expo Centre Sharjah and run till March 11.

Apart from giving a big boost to the Emiratisation process, the exhibition will provide the young nationals with a platform to meet their prospective employers and choose the most suitable job as per their talent and expertise.

It will also assist employers in the country to meet their strategic human resource requirements.

Sponsored by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Human Resources Development Committee in the Banking Sector and Emirates Institute for the Banking and Financial Studies, the seventh edition of the exhibition is 20 per cent bigger in terms of occupied space and number of exhibitors than its previous edition.

The NCE, for the first time, has the 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.

Some of the companies which make their debut this year include Invest Bank, Bank Du Caire, Bank of Saderate Iran, Bank of Sharjah, Barclays Bank, Al Ansari Exchange and Al Fardan Exchange.

Other participants are 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, Sharjah Islamic Bank, National Bank of Umm Al Quwain, Standard Chartered Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, United Arab Bank and RAK Bank, among others.

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

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 per cent from the show held in 2003.

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

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

The morning session on Wednesday, March 9, from 10 am to 1pm will be dedicated to ladies only.