Twenty-eight senior social workers and psychologists from all over the UAE attended a high school counselors’ workshop organised today by Tanmia’s Centre for Career Guidance and Planning, in association with the National Admissions and Planning Office (NAPO) of the Ministry of Education.
The workshop was aimed at enhancing the skills of counsellors in guiding high school students in different aspects of education and life. Consisting of theoretical and practical sessions, the workshop covered several key topics, such as academic, education and vocational counseling, teaching students how to do self-assessment, training and employment opportunities, new acceptance policies adopted by Higher Education institutions, job market dynamics in the UAE and enhancement of efficiency.
Employees from the social and psychological program of the Ministry of Education also took part in the workshop which was organised for the second consecutive year, with great success.
“In today’s complex education environment and evolving job market, the role of the counselor has assumed greater importance,” said Marwan Al-Sawaleh, Acting Director General, Tanmia. “It is therefore important to assist the development of counselors with a deeper understanding of the psychological and sociological needs of students. The guidance provided by these counselors can have a major impact on the future of young people by helping them understand the needs of today’s job market.”
“Tanmia is delighted to partner with the National Admissions and Placement Office of Higher Education to organise a workshop that gave senior social workers and psychologists a platform to share ideas and gain new insights into counseling,” added Al Sawaleh. “We are confident that the workshop will help Tanmia achieve one of its primary goals of guiding students in choosing the right career stream with the help of trained counselors.”
Held at the Dubai Women's College, the event was attended by several specialists trained in aspects of career counselling. The Tanmia team highlighted the services provided by the Centre for Career Guidance & Planning to job-seekers with the focus on human resources.
The participants took part in several discussions with focus on the UAE labour market and the challenges that lie ahead, especially for UAE Nationals. The workshop also shed light on the expectations of employees and jobseekers. It further stressed the pivotal role played by career guidance in boosting work ethics and values, as well as the development of Emarati human resources that would ultimately lead to correcting the imbalance in the UAE labour market.
About Tanmia
Tanmia, the National Human Resource Development & Employment Authority in the UAE, was established by a Presidential decree in November 1999, to address the imbalance in the labour market, due to excessive dependence on expatriate workforce. Tanmia is engaged in a coordinating role, between national job seekers and employers in the private and government sectors, to facilitate increased entry of nationals in the labour market. The responsibilities that rest with the Authority are: to set up the overall policy of the Authority and supervise its implementation, conduct sustained operational and administrative labour market studies and analysis, provide career counseling and guidance to the national work force, follow-up and evaluate employment of nationals in public and private sectors, support small investment enterprises through the establishment of self-employment projects for national human resources and develop programmes for training and qualifying nationals seeking employment, in conformity with the labour market needs.
