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U.A.E. Students Launch ‘Extension 45,’ a Podcast to Help Young Graduates Find Jobs

A student-led group at the United Arab Emirates’ Zayed University that has been helping final-year students prepare for jobs for the past five years recently launched “Extension 45,” a podcast to make their services accessible beyond the university’s Dubai campus.

The group, called Career Advocate Leaders, has operated under the university’s Student Careers and Alumni Department since 2018. It launched the “Extension 45” podcast last month.

Reem AlAwadhi, a group member and a co-founder of the podcast, said the idea was to help students and newly qualified graduates learn about career development opportunities and prepare well for the job market.

“Since its creation, Career Advocate Leaders has been providing critical career-related services to students within Zayed University, including workshops in major and soft skills which are crucial in their career development,” AlAwadhi told al-Fanar Media. “But we wanted to put the group’s services at everyone’s fingertips. That was how the idea of the podcast started.”

“Since its creation, Career Advocate Leaders has been providing critical career-related services to students within Zayed University … but we wanted to put the group’s services at everyone’s fingertips. That was how the idea of the podcast started.”

Reem AlAawadhi, a group member and a co-founder of the podcast

“Extension 45,” which was named after the room number of the group’s lounge, offers advice to help young job seekers avoid recurring mistakes like poor CVs, lack of preparedness, and limited knowledge of the job market.

“The objective is to empower students so that by the time they start looking for jobs, they know what they are doing and can follow their own trajectories without fear of being underprepared or unaware of how the job market is,” AlAwadhi said.

A Novel Concept in the Emirates

 The Career Advocate Leaders group’s work at Zayed University is an innovative concept in the United Arab Emirates.

The group has members in every faculty to inform students about their services and the importance of equipping themselves with the skills they will need in a competitive work environment.

“There is a big need for Career Advocate Leaders and for it to be a permanent hub that is accessible to all our young people,” AlAwadhi said. “The group and ‘Extension 45’ are the first such initiative in the U.A.E., where there is not enough information about the reality of the job market.”

The podcast’s first episodes will explain its concepts and inform students about where they can look for job opportunities.

U.A.E. Students Launch ‘Extension 45,’ a Podcast to Help Young Graduates Find Jobs
Reem AlAawadhi, a group member and a co-founder of the podcast

The podcast will carry a variety of types of information, including economic and work strategies in the Emirates, notices of new majors and career fairs, and guidance on how to build a portfolio and CV, how to prepare for job interviews, and the skills needed for specific jobs.

While some episodes will apply universally, others will be relevant only to young Emiratis, and some will target Zayed University students specifically. Episodes will be in English or Arabic, depending on the target audience.

Emphasis on Jobs in the Private Sector

The podcast’s content is aligned with the country’s vision of enhancing the employability of Emirati youth in the private sector, a key component of the Emirates’ UAE Centennial 2071 plan.

It will have special episodes about Nafis (Arabic for “compete”), a government programme launched in 2021. Nafis aims to help Emirati nationals pursue careers in the private sector by offering them financial incentives and training.

The core of the government strategy is to have more Emiratis equipped with skills that relate to the job market, specifically competencies in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), which are highly in demand in an era of digital economic growth.

“[Students] are more aware that they can create a job rather than waiting for one. For instance, art students have established packaging businesses; marketing students have planned marketing strategies and profiles for small businesses; information technology students are doing their own coding and selling it online. … Everyone is trying to be creative and work out what they can do with their knowledge.”

Nour Ahmed, another of the podcast’s founders

There are several barriers to higher employment of Emiratis in the private sector, however. These include a gap between education and what the job market needs, cultural perceptions, and differences in compensation and benefits across sectors.

Societal Changes After Covid-19

Nour Ahmed, one of AlAwadhi’s colleagues and another of the podcast’s founders, underlined the importance of academic research into employment trends after the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Covid had a huge impact on people’s behavior,” she said. “We noticed that they are more focused on self-development and more aware of their path and where they want to go.”

“Some majors have become more attractive and demand for digital courses is higher,” she added. “Students are now looking for innovation, experience and skills, not mere curriculum.”

There is also greater interest in financial and business studies, she said, and many graduates have established their own businesses.

Nour Ahmed, a member of the Career Leaders Group, and co-founder of the CALs podcast.

“They are more aware that they can create a job rather than waiting for one. For instance, art students have established packaging businesses; marketing students have planned marketing strategies and profiles for small businesses; information technology students are doing their own coding and selling it online. … Everyone is trying to be creative and work out what they can do with their knowledge,” Ahmed said.

Speaking of the government’s focus on the private sector, she noted: “Some graduates are now moving into the private rather than the public sector. But it is a slow change. … We need to change the mind-set first, not only the behaviour.

A Push for More Practical Studies

Maitha  Alfalasi, another member of Career Advocate Leaders, said the group wanted the university to create new courses that are more aligned with the skills required for jobs. 

“Most majors are theoretical, while we need to boost the practical side of studies. We are working on such a project, which we will soon submit to the university’s administration,” Alfalasi said.

«ملحق 45».. بودكاست طلابي لمساعدة خريجي الإمارات في العثور على وظائف
Maitha  Alfalasi,, member of the Professional Leaders Group, and co-founder of the CALs podcast.

Meanwhile, the group is promoting its services by organising career fairs, which have been attended by more than 80 private and semi-governmental companies.

“The group works very closely with students applying for jobs that the career department posts,” Alfalasi said. “We do mock interviews to prepare them, but we also ask the companies’ human relations representatives to do the actual interviews in our lounge. We actually bring them here.”

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