Tanmia, the National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority, announced today, (Sunday, September 11, 2005) the launch of its Technical Training Center in Dubai in partnership with Microsoft Corporation, under the patronage of H.E Dr. Ali Bin Abdullah Al Kaabi, Minister of Labour, and Chairman of Tanmia Board of Trustees Tanmia.
The fully equipped Tanmia Center has been set up to provide training in fundamentals in computers and the internet to UAE National jobseekers to significantly increase their employment opportunities. The announcement was made in the presence of Youssuf Abdulghani. Undersecretary of Finance and Administration, Ministry of Labour, Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director of Community Affairs, Microsoft Corporation, Marwan Al Sawaleh, Acting Director General, Tanmia and Amna Al-Nakhi, Academic Programs & Community Affairs Manager, Microsoft Gulf.
Through its Center of Excellence, Microsoft in collaboration with Tanmia, have implemented the ‘train the trainer’ program, where 12 UAE Nationals have completed a course to qualify them as Master Trainers in information technology. They were trained by Microsoft Learning Solutions Partner, Compubase, in a complete IT curriculum provided by Microsoft. The trainers’ program will also include fundamentals in training techniques and presentation. Four of these trainers have been employed by Tanmia to train students at the new center for the first training program that will cover fundamentals in Computers, Digital Media, Internet, Word Processing, Web Design, Presentation, Database and Spreadsheet.
“With information technology playing such a vital role today, it is our duty and responsibility to further IT literacy among UAE National jobseekers who are the pillars of the country’s economy,” said Al Sawaleh. “By setting up this Technical Training Center we will be providing an excellent opportunity for our youngsters to be trained on various computer and internet skills that will tremendously boost their job prospects in the country. Further, the fact that the trainers at the Tanmia Center are all UAE Nationals, will certainly be an inspiration to the jobseekers.”
“I thank Microsoft for their support and cooperation in helping us set up this center and for their role in training the Nationals to become Master Trainers, and also for preparing the young Nationals joining the workforce. We truly appreciate their committed effort to further Tanmia’s Emiratisation drive and we are certain that our association with one of the world’s premier software companies will add value to our initiative,” he added.
The support received by Tanmia from Microsoft included a cash grant for the ‘train the trainer’ program, Microsoft IT tools and technologies and teaching curriculum in English and Arabic. The ‘train the trainer’ program was funded by Microsoft as part of its Unlimited Potential (UP) initiative, which is a global initiative designed to help narrow the technology skills gap and aid global workforce development by providing technology skills through Community-Based Technology and Learning Centers (CTLCs).
“Microsoft is very pleased to be able to work with Tanmia on this important project which not only gives new career opportunities to the master trainers, but also will enable them to pass on their skills to their compatriots, to help them in turn to open up new possibilities for employment,” said Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director of Community Affairs, Microsoft Corporation. “Microsoft would like to congratulate the trainers for their achievement and wish them every success in helping others to fulfill their full potential. We look forward to building on our partnership with Tanmia with the launch of this new center, which will bring more opportunities to the young UAE National jobseekers and contribute to the development of the workforce.”
The IT skills development offered at the new center will be carried out according to a schedule suggested by Compubase and the performance of the trainees will be assessed on a regular basis.
“In the recent months a number of companies from the private sector have come forward to extend their support to Tanmia’s Emiratisation drive, and this effort from Microsoft will inspire other companies in the sector to be a part of Tanmia’s nationalisation programs. This marks the beginning of Tanmia’s association with Microsoft and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership in the months ahead,” concluded Al Sawaleh.
About Tanmia:
Tanmia, the National Human Resource Development & Employment Authority in the UAE, was established by a Presidential decree in November 1999, to address the imbalance in the labour market, due to excessive dependence on expatriate workforce. Tanmia is engaged in a coordinating role, between national job seekers and employers in the private and government sectors, to facilitate increased entry of nationals in the labour market. The responsibilities that rest with the Authority are: to set up the overall policy of the Authority and supervise its implementation, conduct sustained operational and administrative labour market studies and analysis, provide career counseling and guidance to the national work force, follow-up and evaluate employment of nationals in public and private sectors, support small investment enterprises through the establishment of self-employment projects for national human resources and develop programmes for training and qualifying nationals seeking employment, in conformity with the labour market needs.
About Microsoft Gulf
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft Gulf opened its Dubai-based headquarters in 1991. Microsoft Gulf today oversees Microsoft activities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, the UAE and Yemen. Microsoft Corporation’s address on the World Wide Web is: www.microsoft.com Microsoft Middle East's Web site is: www.microsoft.com/middleeast
