Emirati Career Conceptualisations: Vision 2021, The Knowledge Economy, And Education in the United Arab Emirates A Perspective

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Date
2010-05
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Publisher
The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
The government of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) has established the Vision 2021 plan. The plan outlines the type of employment that Nationals are expected to engage in, which is knowledge based. The ability of education to ready Nationals for knowledge-based employment is investigated by analysing the current landscape of education in the Emirates. The perceptions of stakeholder attitudes, employment engagement factors and the pressures Emiratis face living in a transnational society are analysed to better understand areas that contribute to the labour market imbalances the country currently is experiencing. The methodology employed for the empirical aspect of the study, creative visual research, uncovers Emirati (aged 17-20) conceptualisations about their future career expectations. The findings suggest that young Emiratis identified success with the amount of effort put into their education and careers, but lack a clear understanding of the difference between the public and private sectors, and government policies such as Emiratisation and Vision 2021. Moreover, their salary expectations are high and a mentality exists among the study’s participants in regards to engaging in the private sector as investors, opposed to job seeking individuals. The findings also suggest that perhaps the media and policy makers pay too much attention to Emiratis who are not in dire needs of employment and there is a need for further investigation into Emirati socio-economic class distinction. The study recommends the implementation of citizenship education, incentives and disincentives for federal education, and further development of alternatives to university such as vocational training.
Description
DISSERTATION WITH DISTINCTION
Keywords
career, Emirati, knowledge economy, Vision 2021, United Arab Emirates (UAE), knowledge-based employment, stakeholder, attitude, Emiratisation
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