200 Emiratis get career building tips from experts
dubai — In line with the Year of Zayed’s value of human development, a programme titled ‘Steer Your Career’ saw 195 Emirati students from five universities mentored by experts from renowned financial firm JP Morgan. As part of its commitment to foster local young talents and empower youth to reach their full potentials, Injaz UAE, in partnership with JP Morgan, recently implemented a series of Injaz ‘Steer Your Career’ programme supporting Emirati students across the UAE to make informed career choices.
The programme is offered to Year 3 and Year 4 university students and saw participation of students from Zayed University — Abu Dhabi, Jumeirah University and Al Falah University.
The programme aims to promote Emirati inclusion in the private sector by providing students with three weekly mentoring sessions, two hours each to raise their awareness on challenges faced when they take their first steps in their professional career path.
Sjoerd Leenart, regional head of CEEMEA and global head of corporate banking at JP Morgan, said: “In the UAE, JP Morgan supports programmes that help youth prepare and successfully transition into first-rate employment. We are delighted to support Injaz UAE to help Emirati youth compete in the global economy and find new pathways to economic opportunity.”
With the support of volunteers from JP Morgan senior staff, the programme taught students to use updated tools to build career plans and methodologies for skills development, while also covering concepts in professionalism in the workplace.
“Through SYC programme, I learned how to be successful and how to choose future jobs,” said Mouza Matar, a student at Zayed University. JP Morgan mentors engaged in discussions where they provided students with real-life examples from their professional career, challenges and obstacles they have faced, strategies that they have used to reach success and other examples relevant to each topic covered under the different sessions etc.
Tamer Zumot, acting CEO of Injaz UAE, said: “The programme taught students to understand basic business leadership skills, develop time management skills, identify the six methods to improve their oral communication, and appreciate the value of working in teams.”
“The programme helped us to find clear edges and ideas about life. It also helped us to face a situation clearly and to take decisions,” said Mohammed Afsal from Ajman University of Science and Technology.
Set up in September 2017 the Steer Your Career programme is one of a host of professional development programmess offered by INJAZ UAE that aims to teach students a variety of skills needed for a modern workplace.
The professional development programme aims to teach the skills needed for a modern workplace, while raising students’ awareness on challenges faced when they take the first steps in their professional career path.