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Students seek more career guidance in UAE schools

Dubai - The rising challenge of new job demands due to the onset of technology requires skills at all levels.

Students in the UAE looking for transition into universities say they want more guidance counselling in schools to help address their concerns over the future job market.
The rising challenge of new job demands due to the onset of technology requires skills at all levels. But for students transitioning into university now, the uncertainties surrounding what the future holds is weighing heavy on their decision-making.
As the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (GETEX) 2018 kicked off at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Thursday, Khaleej Times spoke to several students who aired their concerns about how they can adapt today's learning for tomorrow's technology-driven needs.
Eighteen-year-old Dubai student Alivin Joseph said along with the financial burden related to university, the relevancy of courses on offer is playing on his mind. "I'm interested in studying logistics engineering but I spoke to a university representative today who said people aren't studying this field because of how technology is dominating the sector."
Though he said the UAE universities have broadly expanded course offerings over the past few years, the way technology is moving so fast is a concern for him. "Take the hyperloop for instance. This kind of transport mode will soon take over, but technology will be doing the logistics works. Technology moving at a fast pace is good, but I worry if what I study now will be irrelevant in the future. That's my concern."
Sixteen-year-old Waleed Dilawar from Cambridge International School Dubai, said although he is looking to study a law degree abroad, more counselling throughout his school years would have made his decision-making a lot more smooth sailing. "Career guidance is something we really should have had more of in schools, especially because the world is changing at such a fast pace. As students, we don't know what it is to have a career so we need more support in this area."
And his school mate Ahmed Gohar agreed. "Choosing which university to go to is a hard decision, but choosing what to study is even more difficult, especially nowadays with the onset of technology. I do think students here need more support in that area. Not just when we're in our final year of school, but throughout our whole school life."
There is no debate that artificial intelligence and automation will affect profound changes in our world. But these fears, especially among university students, now centre on their ability to make the right decisions, given the amount of money they will be investing in their university course.
Take Indian student Anfas Abdulnaser for instance. He wants to study medicine, but is concerned whether this will bode well for him in the future.
"In these times, everything is changing because of the onset of robotics, AI. I am worried that I could spend lots of money on my university course, learning the need-to-knows of medicine now, but my question is how different will medicine be in the future. When it comes to graduating, will I be ill-equipped for that change?"
kelly@khaleejtimes.com