Youth need to focus on developing their soft skills and equip themselves with academic recognitions and skills that are needed for the job market, besides for their personal development, opine an Omani scholar and academics.
Besides learning what the job market is in demand for, attention to develop their skills such as critical thinking, communication, and critical analysis should also be in place.
Speaking to the Observer on the sidelines of the ‘Future Skills and HRD Conference’ organised under the auspices of Bakhait bin Ahmed al Mahri, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation for Higher Education (MoHERI), Dr Abdullah Saleh Baabood, Chair of the State of Qatar for Islamic Area Studies and a visiting professor at the Waseda University in Tokyo, said there’s a serious mismatch between qualifications and requirements of new skills in the industry.
“There’s a serious mismatch between the qualifications that our youth earn from colleges and the requirements of the job market and one should constantly improve his/her skillset and continue to acquire future skills in the industry,” Baabood told the Observer.
“We are going through an unprecedented era and one cannot expect the government to give them jobs. Instead, it is the private sector that is the mass job provider in the present era.”
He feels that governments in the present world are not to be depended for providing jobs and it’s unfair and overinflated especially at a time like this.
“It is not fair to rely upon the governments to provide them with jobs and that is another challenge for the governments across the globe. We need to change the mentality and make a paradigm shift,” Dr Baabood who did his studies in international universities said.
“Unfortunately, the private sector is going through a difficult phase because of the crisis and governments need to support the sector that supports the job market.
If the government spending is adjusted due to oil prices changes, there will be a reflection of the same throughout the economy and its happening in many countries with differences based on their economic features.”
“The Future Skills and HRD Conference is a real eye-opener and a reservoir of knowledge on HR. The speakers were so knowledgeable and brainstorming sessions proved to be a real icing on the cake,” said Runita Sahay, another educationist.
The skills that we need:
Rania Abdulaziz al Raisi, Director of HR at the College of Banking and Financial Studies (CBFS), opines that one needs to focus on a few skills to be more competitive.
“In terms of future skills, I believe that there are some skills that need to be developed and the first one is adaptability. This will make the candidate more adaptable to the organisation as well as to life and make them competitive.”
According to her, the youth needs to have critical analysis, maths, calculus,
Effective communication skills which are needed by employees besides knowledge of IT.
Kareema al Shukaili, Head of Academic Support Centre feels future belonged to E-commerce and focus need to be shifted to the nexgen mantra.
“E-commerce is another area one needs to focus. Higher education institutions need to incorporate more of such skills into their curriculum. They need to improve their soft skills such as creative and critical skills, and communication skills that take them out of their comfort zone on a daily basis. They need to think out of the box,” adds Al Shukaili.
