SCAD's Statistical Training Institute organizes 12 courses for 160 participants in Q4 2012

HE Butti A. M. Al Qubaisi, Director General of SCAD reaffirmed the Centre's commitment to meet the training needs of Abu Dhabi local government entities in various statistical disciplines in line with its annual training calendar. SCAD seeks to promote cooperation with these government bodies through the provision of specialized statistical training programmes for their staff, and joint evaluation of the inputs and outputs of these courses, depending on the nature and requirements of their respective areas of work.

By the end of 2012 trainees had attended eight courses in statistical areas, including three sessions in December that covered the topics of: sampling and statistics for non-statisticians (Arabic/English). Four other specialized courses were held during the period under review including sessions on SAS (Statistical Analysis System), professional project management and a number of workshops.

The STI also organized in addition to the four courses addressing various behavioral and managerial themes, including creative thinking, effective communication and customer service.

According to SCAD, 160 government staff attended the STI courses in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain during Q4 2013, including 34 staff from SCAD and 126 staff from six government agencies, namely, the Judicial Department, Abu Dhabi Municipality, Family Development Foundation, Department of Economic Development, the Center of Excellence of the Secretariat of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Zakat Fund.

SCAD's STI is also preparing to organize three statistical courses during the first quarter of 2013, in addition to two seminars to be presented by experts Dr. Enrico Giovannini in February and Dr. Stephen Penneck in March. The Institute will also launch an awareness programme for all the staff of the Centre in the fields of environment, health and safety according to the criteria approved by the Abu Dhabi Environment, Health and Safety Center. The program includes training sessions on first aid, evacuation plans and public awareness in the work environment.

Furthermore, the Institute will launch an initiative entitled "Hayyakum-Ullah", an inductive training for newly recruited staff. This program is going to be instrumental in familiarizing new employees with SCAD's establishing law, organizational structure and applicable rules and regulations, thereby helping employees to communicate and integrate faster within their new work environment.

The STI will also continue to hold 20*20 discussions platform every Wednesday. As for the statistics for non-statisticians course, the next round of sessions, to be held in January 2013, are going to be the last for SCAD's staff, as the subsequent sessions will be dedicated for the staff other entities.

It is worth mentioning that SCAD has recently upgraded its website to ensure better services for the page visitors and the Institute's clients.

According to SCAD, the STI offers courses in a wide range of topics including economic, demographic, social, agricultural, and environmental statistics, surveys, statistical research and general statistics, to meet the needs of Government agencies in various statistical disciplines and to cooperate with them in the evaluation of the inputs and outputs of the courses as per the specific requirements of the participants, in fulfillment of its mission to raise the efficiency of personnel working in the statistical units of these agencies.

Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi added that it has maintained coordination with several internationally recognized universities and institutes in the field of statistics as strategic partners of the Institute in the delivery of high-quality courses in accordance with international standards.

Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi called on all government entities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to take advantage of the training programs organized by SCAD's Institute of Statistical Training, which are presented by highly competent experts in the various fields of applied statistics, including population censuses and various types of specialized field surveys. The STI frequently invites expert trainers from prestigious institutions worldwide, so that the Institute's trainees can benefit from their high level of expertise and long experience in official statistics.

HE Butti Ahmed Al Qubaisi, Director General of Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi, pointed out that the creation of the STI as a facility that caters to the preparation of statistical cadres and the upgrading of their performance is considered one of the fundamental requirements for building an advanced statistical system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

SCAD's Director General remarked that through the STI, the Centre seeks to build a base of competent human resources that would provide the statistical service required to meet the needs of various users in a timely manner. This can only be attained through a specialized training institute to prepare, implement and manage statistical training activities on a regular basis, in line with the objectives of the Centre and the statistical units of government and private agencies that produce or use statistical data in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The institute also and supports Emiratization in this strategic area with competent, adequately trained UAE nationals.