FEATURE
“Innovation in the education sector cannot be compared to other industries such as Tech because we are a slower moving giant.” Dr. James Trotter, Dean and Academic President of Murdoch University, Dubai
join the labour market and contribute to the Kingdom’s national development. The number of Saudis looking for jobs during the third quarter of 2019 was 1,025,328, according to the Ministry of Civil Service and the Human Resources Development Fund. Under the reform plan, by 2030 women’s participation in the workforce is anticipated to increase from 22 per cent to 30 per cent, and the overall unemployment rate is expected to fall from 12.7 per cent to 7 per cent. The Kingdom also launched “remote-work” programme that includes an electronic portal for self-employment that will help to achieve the Vision 2030 plan to find suitable job opportunities for Saudi citizens. The platform brings together job seekers and business owners to offer suitable and stimulating job opportunities that guarantee stability and independence. The platform is a new approach in Saudi Arabia to bring unemployment down to 7 per cent by 2030, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030. A key way to solve the GCC education’s challenge is to offer courses which solve the job market’s skilled labour crisis. Most of the graduates passing out of colleges do not possess the skill set required by corporates or industry. Universities are
slowly adapting to this requirement. “Innovation in the education sector cannot be compared to other industries such as Tech because we are a slower moving giant. Having said that, the industry has seen a myriad of new products, ideas and pedagogies come into practice in the last decade or so,” says Dr. James Trotter, Dean and Academic President of Murdoch University, Dubai. The varsity offers courses such as Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security & Forensics and Criminology Major which stems from future jobs and skills requirements. Crossfunctional education with double majors is also another imperative designed for a young population that will most likely work across many functions, roles and industries in their lives. “The employment of the future will increasingly require adaptability, teamwork skills, and a commitment to continued learning,” he adds. “Edtech is another area of transformation where agile and blended models of learning are making their way into ‘mainstream’ education to provide wider options and opportunities to students across the world,” said Dr Trotter.
