423 Emiratis test vocational skills
The UAE’s vocational skills sector is focussed on high-tech expertise, and this is why more and more Emiratis are gravitating towards technical education and entrepreneurship, an education expert said in the capital yesterday.
“There is now an abundance of opportunities in fields like cybersecurity, drone technology, game development and mechatronics, which many of today’s students find exciting. So instead of harbouring a stigma towards vocational skills, a lot of Emirati students are looking to enhance their skills, and pursue technical high-end technical careers,” Ali Al Marzouqi, head of Emirates Skills, told Gulf News.
He was speaking following the opening of the Emirates Skills National Competition, a UAEwide vocational skills contest for Emirati youth. The competition is organised by the Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Actvet), regulator for technical learning and experience in the emirate.
This year, 423 students are participating across 57 categories, which include carpentry, floristry, cabinetmaking, nursing and drone-making. Special needs individuals enrolled at the Zayed Higher Organisation for Special Needs and Humanitarian Care are pitting their skills in six fields, including mobile robotics, floristry, fashion technology, electrical installations, landscape gardening and carpentry.
Most competitors are aged between 17 and 22. Around 55 per cent of the participants are female.