LEAP for Emiratisation

LEAP for Emiratisation

Learning to Earn Apprenticeship Program, or LEAP, is an innovative concept concieved by SFI Group in Philippines and is gaining noteriety in the ASEAN region.

The LEAP initiative, supported by the Assessment Fund, focuses on getting the youth interested in participating in the workforce. Countries within the GCC that have put an emphasis on workforce nationalization could also benefit from the LEAP initiative.

One of the biggest challenges faced by the policy makers in UAE is how to get their youth to participate in the workforce. Although the government is pushing the private sector to implement its Emiratisation policy, the growing challenge now is how to get the Emirati youth to apply and be excited about working in these jobs.

LEAP is very different to conventional classroom training programs, because of its focus on on-the-job training through apprenticeships. LEAP is very similar to the Al Absher program launched in 2013, except that LEAP is structured using assessments to match, and monitor workforce participation (and dropout) rates.

Making LEAP work by matching worker’s competencies with interests

Our research shows that an effective way of getting youth interested in ‘work’, is to give them tasks which do not seem like ‘work’. The LEAP initiative does this very successfully by matching an individual’s interests with apprenticeship (or internship) programs. Since the initiative is tied to earning (or reward) it provides additional incentive towards workforce participation.

Dr Naji Al Mahdi, head of the National Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Nive) in UAE, has over 3 decades of experience workforce development. Dr. Al Mahdi provided a very insightful example “men love to handle cars so selling cars could be very attractive, requiring some knowledge of automobiles, which is where they have an interest.”

Managing workforce participation by understanding why workers dropout

Our research also shows that the level of interest also declines after a certain point for all workers. If the interest declines beyound a certain point, then workers dropout. Let us call this the “dropout point”. The dropout point is a natural phenomenon and it happens with all workers, however timing of this point is not the same for all. We know what happens after the dropout point is reached: either the worker loses interest and is ready to progress to the next level in the same vertical, or the worker looses interest and is ready to move to a different vertical.

Assessment Fund - Assessing reasons for workforce dropout 2

 

Managing the lead up to the dropout point

We did not know (until recently) what happens in the lead up to the dropout point. Having this information was crucial because then we could manage the worker’s progression, rather than let the worker drop out. Now with the release of a new platform called Arabic Assessments we have a better understanding of how to quantify and manage what happen in the lead up to the dropout point. This platform can be used to assess the Emiratis in (using tests in Arabic) and identify their interests, their competencies, and to a certain extent, their personalities. 

 

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Please see Arabic Assessments or contact Saleem Qureshi for more information on the dropout point

Saleem@AssessmentFund.com

From the desk of


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