DUBAI — The GCC Institute, set up to provide professional courses and training to the nationals from the AGCC states to enhance and upgrade their professional skills, is ready to open its doors at the Knowledge Village.
“We believe that the quality of indigenous human resources in the region is second to none,” said Saleh Badruddin, President of the GCC Institute, adding that the institute’s efforts are directed at identifying areas where nationals can attain professional excellence and enabling them to upgrade their skills and education to meet the demands of their workplaces.
The integration of nationals of the AGCC countries in their respective workforce has come to take centre stage on the national agenda of every AGCC government.
According to the institute, with the spurt in the population growth during the last two decades, there is a large number of nationals who are either unemployed or lack proper training to achieve their true potential.
The GCC Institute is an initiative to bridge the gap between the political will of the governments to create quality job opportunities for its citizens and the aspirations of the AGCC nationals for professional success.
“It is important to understand that culture plays a key role in the workplace,” said Khalid Al Meena, Editor-in-Chief of Saudi-based Arab News and an advocate of the institute.
“With its top management comprising AGCC nationals, I think the institute will play a pivotal role in the training of GCC nationals — something no foreign-based organisation can hope to do,” he said.
Women play a key role in any society and the institute has focused on this segment of the population from the beginning. The institute plans to design a number of programmes for the training of women nationals, so they too can work shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts.
“In any nation, the development of the society can be gauged from the participation of women in economic activity of that nation,” said Mr Badruddin, adding that the institute strongly believes that unless women participate in the workforce of AGCC nations, true development can never be achieved.
The courses at the institute will be conducted by a select group of professors and consultants who come from international universities and firms to present and conduct the modules.