Hariri: ‘Every job should help the individual achieve the main purpose of education, which is to serve humanity’
High school students are being given the opportunity to identify the best careers for themselves, thanks to the National Career Fair that was inaugurated at AUB on Thursday, April 15, 2010.
Jointly organized by the Ministry of Education, the National Community for Public Schools, the Hariri Foundation, and the United Nations Development Programme, the National Career Fair was designed with students' future prospects in mind: Instead of promoting universities to the youngsters, the fair hooks students with successful professionals from the private sector who would then overview their chosen occupation. The main characteristics of the job as well as the type of lifestyle that can be expected in the career path in question are also highlighted. As a result, students become better equipped to choose the career path that best matches their personality and preferences.
Held in Issam Fares Hall at AUB, the official ceremony for the fair attracted a host of officials including Lebanese Minister of Education Hassan Mneimneh; MP Bahia Hariri, who heads the Education and Culture Parliamentary Committee; Seifeldin Abbaro, UNDP country director; and Hikmat Beaini, the director of Information and Public Relations at AUB.
Mneimneh thanked everyone for their efforts. “The fair aims to guide high school students, through the study of the labor market, with choosing a better future,” he said.
Hariri emphasized the importance of teaching students about the jobs available on the market and helping them search for work opportunities. In particular, Hariri noted that the ministry and its partners gave priority to public schools in the first phase of this career fair project. In fact, she said the fair was developed after close consultation with public schools over the past year by promoting career guidance as a theme in these schools all over the country.
“Every job should help the individual achieve the main purpose of education, which is to serve humanity,” said Hariri.
The career fair is currently taking place in Beirut on April 15 and 16, 2010, from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, touring thereafter for two days of each week to Zahle (Kadri Hotel) on April 22-23; Saida (Rafic Hariri High School) on May 6-7; and Tripoli (Tripoli Rachid Karami International Fair) on May 13-14.
At the fair, students have the opportunity to attend up to four consecutive 30-minute sessions with professionals who will overview various fields of study.
