Demand for executive education increasing

This is where executive education comes to the rescue as professionals get additional knowledge on improving management skills.

Sultan Al Hajji, deputy general manager at Total ADK, an oil and gas exploration company, has been working for the past 30 years now. Sultan took a course from HEC Qatar in ‘Leadership in Challenging Times’ as part of his company’s training routine, which he says has been an ‘enriching’ educational experience.

“I took the course in leadership to enhance my capabilities and understanding of latest trends. After working for so long, taking a short course provides valuable knowledge and a better overview of international practices,” says Sultan.

As experts say, executive education has its advantages to both, an individual and the organisation.

Dr Omar Hefni, president of the University of Dubai, says, “At an individual level, it helps mould knowledge and experience through well-designed active learning, localised case studies and virtual simulation. It helps in developing sound foundations for professional judgment and contributes to the development of leadership traits.”

Executive education programmes are growing in popularity as even those who already have a diverse and extensive work experience are taking up short courses.

“Executive educational programmes help individuals fill the different gaps in their skill sets and broaden their expertise. It also helps in the buildup of managerial expertise for career advancement,” adds Dr Omar.

HEC Paris in partnership with The Qatar Foundation recently announced its plans to set up an executive development and research centre in Qatar. The centre will offer short courses for professionals in the GCC region.

Joshua Kobb, HEC’s director of International Programme, says, “The objective of executive education is to build international best practices on a global level. Such programmes contribute to corporate competitiveness by training senior managers to adapt, innovate and build skill sets.

“Employees need to master skills and develop a larger global perspective and a lot of companies face a challenge in talent development. This is where executive education becomes important.”

— muaz@khaleejtimes.com

Study on training budget of firms
in GCC

Gearing up for an increased demand in executive education programmes (EEPs), Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) recently announced its plans to evaluate the GCC market for such education. Partnering with Manchester Business School (MBS) for a collaborative study, DIAC will evaluate the effect of the global economic crisis on the training budget of the corporate sector.

Speaking with Khaleej Times, Dr Ayoub Kazim, managing director, Education Cluster - TECOM Investments, said: “Of late, there has been a trend towards providing more executive education programmes looking into research and development. Universities and other higher education providers are trying to minimise risk by starting with a small set-up and marketing their programmes for professional executives.”

The research will aim to identify perceived skill gaps among the workforce in the region from the entry level to top management, recruitment practices across identified industries, and the prevalent corporate training process and practices.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com