Press releases

Over 2000 Egyptian students attended YAL's Learning for Life (LFL) Program

Cairo: June 18th, 2009: Over 2000 young Egyptians have so far been impacted through Young Arab Leaders' Learning for Life program (LfL), revealed YAL - the foremost platform for providing Arab youth with channels of employment through quality education, training and entrepreneurship opportunities - during an event held today at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel, Cairo, to mark the success of the YAL Learning For Life Program in Egypt.

The meeting was attended by H.E. Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Chairman of YAL and Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Investment in Egypt, who was briefed on YAL success stories in Egypt, Mr. Assem O. Kabesh, Chief Executive Officer - YAL, Mr. Elwy Taymour, Chairman, YAL, Egypt country office, Managing Partner, Pharos Holding for Financial Investments, Mr. Ahmad Badrawi, Director of Business Development, SODIC, Egypt, Mr. Ehab Abdou, Board member, Nahdet Al Mahrousa, representatives of Egyptian business, civil society organizations and media, and 30 representatives of impacted students.

The Learning for Life program is meticulously designed to bridge the gap between the academic background of university graduates and the skills needed for the receiving job market. The Program was developed following an intensive research and assessment conducted with professors, students and private sector companies. Courses will equip students with the skills that will give them an edge in the highly-competitive job market and help them meet the expectations of employers.

H.E. Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Chairman of YAL, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), said: "Arab countries need to constantly reform their education systems to respond to the rapidly-changing globalized marketplace requirements, but civil society organizations and the business community should not sit on the fence; it's high time they came together in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab World to deliver on their social responsibilities by empowering our single link with the future, the youth, with quality education, and entrepreneurship opportunities. YAL country office in Egypt will enhance our reach to the youth of the most populated Arab country with highly-efficient and country-specific programs that will help them acquire modern knowledge and skills for an easy transit to employment or self-employment".

In his welcome address, Assem O. Kabesh, Chief Executive Officer, YAL, highlighted that YAL is at the frontline in the battle against unemployment in the Arab world and underlined the efforts exerted by YAL to develop labour market oriented programs that equip Arab youth with skills and knowledge much needed by employers. Mr. Kabesh also thanked SODIC for its support of the LfL program and called upon Egyptian young leaders to join YAL and the business community to partner with YAL to produce mutually-beneficial programs that would upgrade the capabilities of Egyptian youth to fuel rather than to hinder the desired economic development.

In presenting YAL Egypt office strategy and forward vision, Mr. Elwy Taymour, Chairman, Young Arab Leaders Egypt country office, Managing Partner, Pharos Holding for Financial Investments said: "YAL Egypt country office will help cement YAL outreach to Egyptian youth; we'll build on the amazing success of the LfL program to develop, in collaboration with the business community, bespoke programs, that meet the employment requirements of economic development in Egypt."

The LfL program is sponsored by SODIC and is being implemented in Egypt in association with the Career Development Office at Cairo University and Career Development Center at Ain Shams University. The needs assessment phase comprised of interviews and research with students and professors from both universities, in addition to interviews with various Cairo-based companies such as IBM, Lummus Global and Jupiter 2000.

For implementation purposes, YAL has also launched today, two Computer Laboratories in Ain Shams and Cairo Universities, which will be dedicated to the Program's computer-based courses as well as to additional online training courses that will multiply the impact and make more training programs available to students using online tools. SODIC will provide computers for Cairo University Laboratory, and Citadel Capital for Ain Shams University Laboratory. Pharos Holding for Financial Investment will equip both these computer labs with appropriate furniture.

All students are eligible for the basic courses that are currently being offered in the Key CDC and CDO and they are offered on a first-come first-serve basis given that each class could only accommodate a certain number of students. YAL will launch the advanced courses in the nearest future and these will have a qualification test prior to the acceptance of a student into the course. These advanced courses will be graded at the end of each module in order to identify top candidates and the students who will need further training.

Ahmed Badrawi, the Director of Business Development at SODIC, the main sponsor of the LfL program in Egypt, said: " We are glad to partner with Young Arab Leaders (YAL) in creating opportunities that pave the way of Egyptian students to the job market. We believe that "Learning for Life" will arm university students and fresh graduates with skills required for securing jobs in today's competitive marketplace".