H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has said that the development of distinguished and superior national standards in engineering, technological and industrial disciplines is at the forefront of the UAE leadership's priorities.

"UAE youth are the nation's most precious wealth, and the main source of development and progress in all aspects of life", Sheikh Hazza stated, noting that the new and dedicated strategy of the Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ACTVET) reflects the alignment with the vision of UAE’s leadership to ensure the prosperity of the UAE and the wellbeing of its citizens.

ACTVET inaugurated the Leaders Forum, which spearheaded the launch of the seventh edition of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, "TVET Innovation Week 2021", held from the 1st-4th February.

TVET Innovation is taking place virtually, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, and has already welcomed the participation of Hussein Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, Dr. Mubarak Saeed Al Shamsi, Director-General of ACTVET, and a group of senior government officials.

Opening the first session of the forum, the Minister of Education said, "TVET Innovation Week 2021 addresses a very important and current topic: Private sector enhances youth employability."

The Minister praised ACTVET’s initiative, EEE: Empower Emiratis for Employment, through which ACTVET successfully deployed young Emiratis to work in the private sector. He also commended ACTVET’s dedicated efforts to advance TVET’s educational outcome and adequately equip the UAE’s national talent with the competencies required for their effective contribution to the UAE’s sustainable economic development. ACTVET, through its EEE programme, created effective engagement between the national talent and the labour market and enhanced the competitiveness of UAE youth.

Al Hammadi added that the UAE is vigorously moving forward towards preparing for the next 50 years. Hence, the UAE’s leadership have launched a project named "Towards the next 50", inviting the general public to contribute to shaping the future of UAE and outlining the UAE’s Centennial Plan 2071. The education sector sits on the top of this plan, articulating its outcome is a priority. TVET is a vital sector that we need to formulate and develop, TVET graduates can be a real contributor to UAE’s sustainable development, he added.

"Since we all know that the fourth industrial revolution is around the corner, for UAE to keep pace, or even compete at, we need to invest in the opportunities in hand. Our goal is to prepare the future youth to master their trades in the technical, applied and professional fields. Taking into account the different educational needs of the students, we developed specialised educational paths and different modern disciplines aligned with the requirements of the ever developing industry sectors, while instilling in our youth the importance of the lifelong learning."

He went on to say that the UAE gives equal importance to the different learning paths offered to students in UAE. "The human development, the advancement of our nation can only be achieved through a balanced educational outcome that combines both skills and knowledge. Vocational education has become a pillar for the economic development of any country. It offers students unique opportunities to innovate and excel in vital industrial sectors. Achieving integration in the education sector depends on the great efforts being made on a large national scale."

Al Hammadi concluded, "This conference is a manifestation of the wise vision of our leadership coming to action. The UAE’s leadership envisioned the cooperation and the integration between the public and the private sectors as the best way to achieve sustainable economic development in the UAE. The goal is to supply the labour market with qualified national cadres capable of building a diversified and sustainable economy with high productivity gauge. Such strong economy will upscale the UAE’s global position in business and increase its competitiveness."

Dr. Mubarak Saeed Al Shamsi, Director-General of ACTVET pointed out that some of the programmes offered include "TVET Innovation Week", "Yes to work" and the "Empower Emiratis for Employment", which aim to help UAE nationals obtain a qualification diploma in the retail sector. "Our programmes are all developed with one goal in mind, to provide the necessary education and training to develop the skills of the UAE nationals and increase their employability through career guidance and mentoring," he said.

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