On the Job Training

Two recent articles in the Dubai press stress the importance of job training at both ends of the labor pool. Regarding the shallow end we have this Gulf News story, "Dubai Central Jail inmates learn how to repair vehicles"

Inmates at Dubai Central jail learn how to repair vehicles as part of the jail's rehabilitation programme, a senior police official said. Brigadier Khamis Saeed Al Suwaidi, Acting Director of Dubai Police's Punitive and Correctional Establishments, said the department is keen on rehabilitation programmes that will help inmates after they are freed. He said the education and training department at the jail organised the vocational course in cooperation with the Al Futtaim training centre. The course targeted 14 UAE national inmates. All passed the course and six were released from jail. The inmates have secured jobs as helpers at Al Futtaim as soon as they had taken the course and received the certificates. Lieutenant Colonel Tariq Kalentar, Director of Dubai Central Jail, said many inmates showed interest in taking the course. However, the 14 were selected based on interviews, their behaviour and their English language proficiency.

And in the deep end of the talent pool we have AMEInfo reporting on the launch of Standard Charter's Graduate Career Development Program:

Standard Chartered, one of the leading international banks in the UAE, has launched two new development programmes to attract high-level graduates to careers within the Bank. 'The Al Tahadi Educational Support Programme provides a monthly financial support to selected UAE national students until they graduate,' explains Aida Hamza, Standard Chartered Head of Emiratisation, UAE. The International Graduate Programme is a two-year development programme that has been active globally and only set to launch in this region at the end of October, specifically designed to develop a robust pipeline of diverse, potential future leaders for the Bank. ... (the IGP) provides graduates of all nationalities with an opportunity to train in a specific function department (wholesale banking or consumer banking) at the Bank after graduation, fast-tracking them for success on an international career path.'

Commentary

Though the education and skills, the nature of the work, and the height of the career ladder of these two groups couldn't be more different, there are a few common themes.

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