Annual fair welcomed companies including ACCA, Zurich Insurance Company, and Bayt.com

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Monday, March 9th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Dubai International Academic City’s (DIAC) career fair, held in Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) last week, offered 460 positions to job-seeking students. The annual event, which has witnessed significant growth since first launching in 2009, welcomed 60 leading regional and international organisations, including the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), TECOM Investments, Bayt.com, Zurich Insurance Company and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

The event attracted a diverse mix of attendees, from undergraduate to Masters level students, studying a wide range of disciplines, including finance, human resources, telecommunications, fashion, arts, biotechnology, engineering, audio and film production, hospitality, travel and tourism, mass media communication, logistics, healthcare, and information technology.

Dr. Ayoub Kazim, Managing Director of Dubai Knowledge Village said, “Facilitating relationships between education and industry is a crucial part of our ongoing efforts to support our growing economy. At DIAC, we support students through all stages of the education lifecycle, from recruitment, placement, study, job application, right through to alumni. Our student hub department plays a key role in this process, offering internships and training opportunities throughout the year.”

In 2014 the UAE GDP grew 4.3 per cent, and this is expected to continue to rise to an estimated 4.6 per cent in 2018-2019, as Expo 2020 edges closer. In addition, a report last year by Standard Chartered estimated that around 300,000 direct and one million indirect jobs will be created in the UAE by the time the Expo begins in 2020.

“With close to 50 per cent of the population in the Middle East under the age of 25, we have the capacity to provide the skilled workforce required, but what is vital is that the employment opportunites on offer are competitive, therefore enable us to attract and retain young talent here in the region. Our annual career fair provides an ideal platform for student graduates to meet potential employers, giving them the opportunity to ask questions, and explore different career paths in relaxed and welcoming atmosphere,” Dr. Ayoub added.

As part of the fair, DIAC also arranged a career workshop on CV writing and interview tips in order to fully prepare graduates for entering the working world. DIAC’s annual career fair is just one of a number of TECOM Education Cluster initiatives hosted throughout the year to bring together industry, academia, and government, in an effort to support the burgeoning economy.       

Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com said: “Bayt.com was happy to provide career advice and CV tips and pointers to students of DIAC’s annual career fair, with fresh market insights and career guidance always being much needed and very valuable for students and fresh graduates. According to the Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Middle East survey (August 2014), most graduates in the UAE (70%) feel that the biggest challenge they face in finding a job is that employers are looking for candidates with previous experience, though knowing where to find relevant jobs is also considered to be a challenge by 37%. Career fairs are certainly a great way to engage and interact with companies that are hiring.

“In line with our mission to empower people with the tools and technology to have their lifestyle of choice, we also spent some time showing visitors tips and tools to best use Bayt.com to find a job.”

Lindsay Degouvre De Nuncques, ACCA said, “In an increasingly competitive job market students need to begin thinking about their long term career plans earlier, it is no longer a case of a degree being enough to differentiate a candidate in the job market. The DIAC career fair is an excellent opportunity for students to see what employers are looking for and understand the role professional qualifications such as ACCA can play in helping them to get that dream role.”

Yaseen Rashid (18) a Student at American University in the Emirates commented at the event: “The DIAC Career Fair provides us with the chance to get to know what job offers are out there in the market. Being able to speak to potential employers also provides excellent context so that we may work on our resumes so that we may find suitable jobs”

Hussein Abdullah (19), Student at Amity University Dubai also added: “Whilst there are a huge number of career events held throughout the year, the DIAC Career Fair is one of the best as it gives students exposure so some of the UAE’s biggest companies so that we can see what is out there and hopefully, allow us the opportunity to work for one of them one day.”

- Ends -

Notes to editors:

About Dubai International Academic City

Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) is the world’s largest Free Zone dedicated to Higher Education. Established in 2007, as part of TECOM Investments – a member of Dubai Holding – DIAC aims to develop the region’s talent pool and help establish the UAE as a knowledge-based economy through the provision of multi-tiered academic institutions that are internationally accredited.

DIAC is located on a fully-appointed 18 million sq ft campus with state-of-the-art facilities. It is home to a large number of  universities from 10 countries, including Amity University, Heriot-Watt University, Michigan State University, University of Wollongong, BITS Pilani, Hult International Business School, Murdoch University, and Manchester Business School, to name a few.

DIAC provides more than 400 certificate, diploma, undergraduate, post graduate and PHD programmes to over 20,000 students of 125 nationalities.

Contacts

Bell Pottinger

Harriet Daly, +97155-459-3260,

hdaly@bellpottinger.com

TECOM Investments Education Cluster

Brendan Vyner, Brand Manager

+9714-360-2960

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