Abdullah Al Ghurair Foundation to upskill 25,000 UAE youth by 2025

The Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education (AGFE) has launched "Nomu", a multi-sector partnership initiative in collaboration with University Leadership Council (ULC) to empower 25,000 Emirati youth by 2025. The initiative was announced during the Global Goals Week held at EXPO 2020 Dubai and will offer high-quality learning opportunities as part of the nation's sustainability strategy.

The initiative is part of AGFE's commitment to the Global Council membership on Sustainable Development Goals. This UAE Government initiative is under the umbrella and supervision of the UAE National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals and is headed by Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chairwoman of the National Committee on SDGs.

Meaning 'growth' in Arabic, Nomu will focus on preparing youth with the information, skills and tools needed for success in a digital, knowledge-based economy and help them develop the ten competencies identified by World Economic Forum (WEF) to succeed in the future workplace. To compete in the global labour market for the jobs of tomorrow, Nomu will equip Emirati youth to ensure that they stay ahead of the skills curve.

This initiative aims to meet the growing needs of the future labour market, focusing on identifying priority industries and recruitment pipelines. Nomu will contribute towards the UAE government-led 'Projects of the 50' plan to boost its global competitiveness and supply it with young Emirati talents. It will also contribute to advancing the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).

It will support the federal government's efforts to increase awareness, build partnerships, and provide youth with the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to participate effectively in achieving global sustainable development goals and building a better and sustainable future. Under the initiative, youth will benefit from workplace experience education models where they would get the chance to work in an industry related to their field alongside their academic education.

The programme will see the private sector and universities work together by applying real-world learning, keeping up with technological skills and solving workforce challenges. AGFE will focus on harmonising the ecosystem concerning segmenting the target groups, providing them differential training, and connecting them to the market. About 25,000 selected Emirati youth will be exposed to a wide range of industry-certified courses that will equip them with the skills in high demand by employers that are needed to help them thrive and have a competitive advantage to secure employment.

Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the University Leadership Council, said, "Nomu reflects the mandate of the University Leadership Council to promote collaborative work across education, to enhance mutually beneficial dialogues amongst leading institutions of higher learning, promote collaborative industry and government sectors towards the common goals of meeting the requirements of the industry and the sustainable economy, as well as initiate and support the global partnership in the strategic axes of development for a sustainable future.

"We are proud of the work that the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education has been doing. Therefore, we are particularly pleased to join in the efforts to support national youth development for the country's continued development." Explaining the motivation behind this new initiative, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of AGFE said, "It is our collective responsibility to make sure that Emirati talent continues to be globally competitive as we shift our efforts to meet the demands of the fourth industrial revolution.

The UAE serves as a model on how the private sector helps to benefit society and achieve sustainability with innovation and strategic partnerships. "We can only achieve this goal when the private sector is part of the solution investing in our youth and working towards a balanced national economy," he concluded. In June last year, the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education (AGFE) announced the launch of the "Abdulla Al Ghurair Hub for Digital Teaching and Learning" in partnership with the American University of Beirut (AUB) at the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA) to improve access to quality online education for thousands of Arab youth across the region.

WAM