ELC at UOB Introduces a Program to Support Employability Skills

“Foundation
Programs” Conference Calls for the Inclusion of Career Paths in Academic
Content

Based on the recommendations of
the recently concluded Third International Conference on Foundation Programs,
the English Language Center (ELC) at the University of Bahrain (UOB) announced
that it is going to establish an integrated program in order to support job and
life skills of its students.

Where around 1,200 participants from
50 countries around the world participated in this scientific event under the
title “Extending Higher Education Learning beyond the Classroom:
Integrating Life and Employability Skills”.

The recommendations in the
seminar held by the Conference on Tuesday (24 November 2020) were based on the
scientific studies that were discussed during the Conference that was held on
the Zoom platform.

The director of ELC at the
University, Dr. Ghada Ahmed Jassim, explained that Employability Skills mean
the ability to think critically, deal with crises, the ability to analyze,
manage and develop oneself, and the ability to communicate and plan properly,
as well as being flexible and active.

On its second day, the Conference
hosted the keynote speaker, Director of Recruitment at Nottingham Trent
University, Dr. Doug Cole, who presented a paper entitled ” Developing a
Future Facing Approach to Support Scalable Change in Higher Education
Learning.”

In his speech, Dr. Cole stressed
the importance of taking research results into consideration and changing the
view that is limited to skills and knowledge only in the field of employment,
pointing to the need to diversify employment requirements to include all
aspects of life such as personalized learning, interpersonal skills, flexibility
and self-efficacy, mental health, and others. Also, Dr. Cole called on
institutions to focus on the quality of the staff rather than the number in
order to help the largest possible segment of graduates.

While faculty member of the
College of Engineering at UOB, Dr. Bassam Abdulla Alhamad, presented a
scientific paper entitled ” Enhancing Employability through Student
Empowerment in the Light of Economical Challenges and Pandemic of
Covid-19.”

Dr. Alhamad presented the efforts
of UOB in integrating Employability Skills and increasing students’
capabilities, an effort that is built on scientific foundations based on
research, stressing the importance of identifying general and basic skills, and
using them to develop curricula.

Moreover, Dr. Alhamad agreed with
Dr. Cole on the importance of including such values ??in the recruitment
processes, explaining that the skills of the twenty-first century lack the
integration of these values ??within its provisions. As the former director of
the Quality and Academic Accreditation Office at UOB called on the Higher
Education Council to consider including students’ capabilities within
employment requirements, which include academic life, professional services,
certificates, student activities, and others.

The Conference was held over
three days and it brought together prominent speakers from different all over
the world who enriched its sessions with insights and knowledge related to the
essential aspects of employment. As the Conference addresses a wide range of
issues, the most important of which are: cognitive qualifications, which have
become the focus of higher education institutions. Also, the Conference stressed
the importance of this approach, not only in the professional life of students,
but teachers as well, indicating the need to add career path management and
practical application in academic content, especially in light of the current
economy that was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the Conference, the future
of jobs and adapting educational curricula and teaching methods to suit the
current situation were discussed in several presentations.

And at the end of the event, the
results of the “Best Picture” competition were announced, which was
held in cooperation between ELC and the National Geographic Educational
Foundation.

 

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

8 Decent work and economic growth

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words

The English Language Center at the University of Bahrain,
supporting career and life skills, Third International Conference on Foundation
Programs Integrating Life and Employability Skills, Extending Higher Education
Learning beyond the Classroom, the ability to think critically, and deal with
crises, the ability to analyze, self-management and development, ability to
communicate, proper planning, flexibility and effectiveness, cognitive
qualifications