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Dubai Maritime Training Center Establishes New Standards of Maritime Vocational Training

An Initiative of Dubai Maritime Creativity Lab
Innovative professional programs aimed at enhancing human resource investment and solidifying Dubai’s leading position in local and global maritime industry
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 17th, 2015 – The Dubai Maritime City Authority, the government authority charged with regulating, coordinating and supervising all aspects of Dubai’s maritime sector, has lauded the operations of the Dubai Maritime Training Centre which represents a valuable addition to the initiatives aimed at enhancing the performance, safety and competitiveness of the local maritime sector while also promoting the emirate as a leading global maritime hub. The Dubai Maritime Training Centre is an initiative developed by the Dubai Maritime Creativity Lab, which was launched earlier by DMCA. The centre work revolves around supporting the government’s efforts to introduce and position Dubai as a safe and sustainable maritime hub via the implementation of comprehensive set of world-class workshops and training programs.
H.E. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation and President of DMCA said, “The Dubai Maritime Training Centre represents an important step into achieving our vision of fully developing our maritime human resources segment, which is deemed as an essential element in promoting Dubai as a global maritime hub while also helping bolster the country’s economic sector and addressing its future needs. Implementing the centre’s training programs will allow us to equip a generation of human resources that can continue the current development of the local maritime sector and promote the emirate as a regional and international pioneer maritime center, in line with the vision and directives of the wise leadership.”
The Dubai Maritime Training Center is one of DMCA’s quality-focused initiatives, which aims to promote Dubai as an international maritime center by focusing on exchanging the latest industry information, introducing the latest practices and organizing international exhibitions, conferences and events, as well as improving training and education directed to those concerned with maritime matters. Considered as a leading drive for the development of human resource investment within the maritime sector, the Dubai Maritime Training Centre aims to collaborate with the best experts and pioneers to design and implement integrated training programs that address rapid international and regional changes and promote Dubai as a leading destination for maritime training and an attractive business environment for leading international maritime companies.
Amer Ali, Executive Director, DMCA, said, “The workshops and training courses introduced by the centre have been created based on highly accurate and comprehensive methodology, industry knowledge exchange and the integration of theoretic maritime education and practical training—ensuring highly positive results. DMCA has initiated a wide-scale plan to renovate and update training facilities and provide it with the latest world-class technologies and equipment in order to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Maritime Training Centre for the optimal investment in human resources. We are preparing a series of training programs specifically tailored to equip floating restaurant employees and owners of jet skis and leisure boats with the latest information and practical competency needed to insure highest safety levels. We are committed to expand the range of training programs to include all the needs of water sports enthusiasts and marine craft operation managers as well.”
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The Petroleum Institute Now an Official IELTS Testing Venue

The Petroleum Institute and British Council Sign Joint Partnership
Abu Dhabi, UAE, September 13th, 2015 – Taking its mission of development and modernisation forward, the Petroleum Institute University and Research Centre agreed recently with the British Council to make the university an accredited place to hold the IELTS test, starting from the month of September 2015.
The aim is to provide students at the university with the convenience of applying for the IELTS test within the Petroleum Institute campus in Abu Dhabi. The Petroleum Institute has a goal of becoming a world-class institution in both engineering education and energy industry research. The institution currently has over 1900 undergraduate and graduate students, over 200 faculty members, and has quickly become a leading teaching and research institution in the Middle East region.
The agreement was signed at the headquarters of the Petroleum Institute in the presence of representatives from The Petroleum Institute and the British Council, UAE. Dr. Thomas Hochstettler, President of the Petroleum Institute signed on behalf of Petroleum Institute and Mr. Marc Jessel, Country Director, British Council UAE on behalf of the British Council.
On this occasion Dr. Thomas Hochstettler, President of the Petroleum Institute said: “The MOU marks a significant milestone for us at the Petroleum Institute.  This agreement will most assuredly facilitate the development of our students as productive, articulate contributors to the culture and prosperity of the nation.  We welcome with enthusiasm this opportunity to partner with the British Council for our mutual benefit in the future”.
Dr. Murray R. Gray, PI Senior Vice President Academics & Provost said: “The Petroleum Institute is committed to preparing its graduates for service to the UAE and for international success. They need a high level of competency in English, and the British Council offers us the best tools for judging their ability to read, write, speak and listen. This MOU will enable us to integrate language teaching with testing in a seamless way to give our students the best launch possible for their academic careers.”
Dr. Muna Balfaqeeh, Director of Academic Bridge Program Said: “As the Director of the Academic Bridge program, I am very proud that this agreement will expand our collaboration with the British Council, and make the Petroleum Institute a certified venue for language testing.”
Mr. Marc Jessel, Country Director UAE praised the Petroleum Institute on the occasion and said, “The British Council is honoured to have signed this partnership with the Petroleum Institute that will provide students from the university with the internationally recognised and accepted IELTS qualification.  This partnership represents our continued commitment of supporting the leading Higher Education institutions in the UAE, by providing qualifications that recognise their ability to communicate in English, which is becoming a valuable 21st Century skill sought after by more and more international employers. “He further added, “British Council’s IELTS is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration, with over two million tests taken in the last year alone.”
IELTS is now accepted by more than 9,000 organizations in 135 countries around the world, including educational institutions, employers, governments, immigration authorities and professional bodies.
About Petroleum Institute (PI)
The Petroleum Institute University and Research Center (PI) was established in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates in 2001 with a goal of becoming a world-class institution in both engineering education and energy industry research. PI currently has over 1900 undergraduate and graduate students, over 200 faculty, and has quickly become a leading teaching and research institution in the Middle East region. The PI’s sponsors and affiliates include the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and four major international oil companies: BP, Japan Oil Development Company, Shell and Total. The campus has modern instructional laboratories and classroom facilities, and will soon host a major research center, the PI Research Center (PIRC) scheduled to open later in 2015.
For more information, visit www.pi.ac.ae
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.
We work in more than 100 countries and our 8,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes.
We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publicly-funded grant provides 20 per cent of our turnover which last year was £864 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, such as English classes and taking UK examinations, and also through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally. 
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/.
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ITIL – Foundation Certification Training in Dubai

GraspSkills is introducing ITIL V3 foundation certification course.
 
Workshop city: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
Workshop Date: 23-24 Oct-15 || Early bird date: 23-Sep-15
Course Overview: ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is globally recognized worldwide as best practice IT management service. The demands of high quality IT services has increased tremendously over the time in both commercial and non-proprietary organizations, thus, ITIL being the best practice IT service management, used by many organizations globally. More Details…
ITIL Foundation training and certification:course has become pertinent these days as the business have become more dependent on IT to meet their business requirements. ITIL Foundation Training covers ITIL basics and terminology which is a pre-requisite to all other ITIL high end qualifications.

This course equips a professional with basic aspects, concepts and terminologies of ITIL that are used in the ITIL Service Lifecycle. ITIL Foundation training includes the linkages between Lifecycle stages.

Foundation Level:
The purpose of the ITIL Foundation certificate in IT Service Management is to certify that you have gained knowledge of the ITIL terminology, structure and basic concepts and have comprehended the core principles of ITIL practices for Service Management. More Details…
After completing the ITIL foundation course and exam, you will have gained knowledge and understanding in the following areas:
  • Service management as a practice
  • The ITIL service lifecycle
  • Generic concepts and definitions
  • Key principles and models
  • Selected processes
  • Selected functions
  • Selected roles
  • Technology and architecture
  • Competence and training
Standard course fee: AED 4190, Early bird fee: AED 3490 (Exam fee included) More Details…
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PMP Certification Training in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

UAE, October 2014 – PMP certification training in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This training would be delivered by a global PMI REP (Registered Training Provider) and comes with the required 35 contact hour certificate.
Training Schedule:
November 2014 : 3-day PMP Prep Bootcamp: Nov 28, 29, 30 December 2014 : 3-day PMP Prep Bootcamp: Dec 19, 20, 21
Special training fee for pre-booking is USD 699.
Pre-book your enrollments for November and December on or before 25th October’14 and şave USD 200 on USD 899.
Please respond if you are interested in this program. Appreciate if you could pass this on to others who may be interested in this training program.
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Workshop on Microsoft Project Professional 2010/13 in Dubai

In this October, GraspSkills invites you to attend its Two Days Hands-on Training Workshop on Microsoft Project 2010/13. View more
Workshop City: Dubai, UAE
Workshop Date: 17-18 Oct-2014

Overview:

The workshop serves as a practical platform to learn the technicalities and working of Microsoft Project 2013 and focuses at making the participants learn the application of MS Project 2013 software towards effectual project management.
MS Project 2013 is designed to assist a project manager in developing a plan, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing the budget and analysing workloads.
Invest 2 Days in this training – Learn to unlock the full potential of the latest Project Management Software from Microsoft i.e. MS Project 2013. View more
Benefits of MS Project
  • Improved estimation
  • Greater control
  • Easier tracking
  • Better collaboration
  • Measuring results and comparing projects
Key Takeaways
  • Easy-to-understand Reference Handbook
  • Free MS Project 2013 Software – Trial Version
  • 24/7 Dedicated Customer Support
  • 45 PDUs claimable with PMI
  • 5 mock tests
  • Business tea and lunch
  • 120 days online training
  • View more
Standard course price: AED 3390
Special Discount: 15% off on Standard Price
GraspSkills: # 56 Lawrence Road, East Ham, London UK E6 1JN
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Effective Business Case Writing Workshop

We, at GraspSkills are pleased to invite you to join our upcoming Instructor led 1 day workshop on Business Case Writing.

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Program date: October 11, 2014
Course overview:

It is generally acknowledged that the Business Case is probably the most critical document to be found in the Project Management Plan. Despite this there remains considerable confusion over why it is required, its content and who should create, approve and maintain it. Accordingly Business Cases are all too often poorly prepared, if indeed they are prepared at all.
The purpose of this workshop is to develop a detailed understanding of this critical document. The workshop will ensure delegates can create and use the Business Case, in practical terms, to ensure the right projects are approved and also guide their actions in effectively managing any size or complexity of project. 
Course Includes:
  • Introduction, Overview, Examples of scenarios
  • 7 step process model for business case writing
  • Cost & benefit analysis
  • Typical business case template & checklist
  • How to prepare business case?
  • Business case writing skills, Trends, practices, principles, Errors
You will get:
  • Hard copy of course material
  • PMI approved 8 PDU/Contact hours certificate
  • Business Tea & Lunch
  • Post training support
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Program date: October 11, 2014
Duration: 1 day (8 hours)
Program fee: AED 1990 (Early price) per person will expire on 01-Oct-14 (Standard price: AED 2590)
Next schedule: December 13, 2014
More details: BusinessCaseWritingpath
Contact person: Khawaja Ali
Contact numbers:  +44-20-3393-1350/ 1-919-238-9981/ +61-290-370-232
Looking for an in house, please feel free to contact us.
Grasp Skills: # 56 Lawrence Road, East Ham, London UK E6 1JN
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Al Ansari Exchange Donates 250,000 AED to Al Noor Training Center for Children with Special Needs

Funds to Enable Development of Enhanced Facilities in Providing Multi-disciplinary Programs for Special Needs Children
UAE, July 19th, 2014 – In line with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE-based foreign exchange and worldwide money transfer company, has donated AED 250,000 to Al Noor Training Center for Children with Special Needs, a Dubai-based non-profit organization for children with Special needs between the ages of 3 and 18. The donation will enable the center to offer enhanced and improved facilities in providing multi-disciplinary programs for the nurturing and development of its children with special needs.

Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange, said: “Children with special needs are an integral part of our society and should be given equal opportunities to nurture their talent and develop their abilities. We are confident that our little contribution to the Al Noor Training Center will help make a difference in the lives of children with special needs. Al Ansari Exchange is very sincere about its CSR agenda and rolls our socially-relevant initiatives, as it firmly believes in making a valuable contribution to the society.”
“We highly appreciate the donation made by Al Ansari Exchange, which will contribute in a positive way towards the development of children with special neeeds. We offer training programs for  children so that they can become financially independent individuals since we depend on corporate donations to run our organization. This kind gesture reflects Al Ansari Exchange’s care and concern for individuals with special needs and will serve as an example for other corporates to support such causes,” concluded Dr. Mohammad Al Redha, Board Member,
Al Noor Training Center for Children with Special Needs.
Located in Al Barsha area of Dubai, Al Noor Training Center for Children with Special Needs has received the ISO 9001:2008 certification for ‘Educational, Rehabilitative and Therapy Services for Individuals with Special Needs through Assessments, Intervention and Training.’ Run under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the special school provides children with special needs, regardless of their background, the same opportunity through professional training and care to realize their potential and integrate them into the wider community.
About Al Ansari Exchange
Al Ansari Exchange is one of the leading remittance and foreign exchange service providers in the UAE. Founded in 1966, the company has established its presence through an extensive network of more than 130 conveniently located branches across the country to bring its services closer to its customers.
Al Ansari Exchange has established strategic partnerships with leading banking and financial institutions around the globe to reinforce its commitment to provide key financial services to its growing customer base. The company constantly introduces exclusive offerings and reward schemes for its customers, while maintaining a truly unique banking experience through its wide range of technology-driven financial services that cater to specific customer needs. Al Ansari Exchange employs a highly qualified and professional team of over 2,200 multinational employees, who serve more than 2 million multi-national customers per month in accordance with consistent level of service experience that meets and exceeds customer expectations.
In addition to remittance and foreign exchange services, Al Ansari Exchange also offers a host of other ancillary financial services, including bill payments, credit card encashment, international mobile top-up, investment and saving schemes, loyalty programs, e-exchange, payroll solutions and corporate cash collection services.
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Employees Make Use of Reduced Workload in Ramadan to Invest in Developing their Soft Skills

Demand for training programs targeting middle managers sees 15% increase in Ramadan, compared to monthly average, says IH Dubai
Dubai, UAE, July 13th, 2014 – International House Dubai (IH Dubai), a leading institution offering practical skills-based courses with international accreditation, has reported a 15 percent increase in admissions to training programs during Ramadan, compared to the monthly average in the first half of 2014.
The company attributed this rise to the reduced working hours in the public and private sectors, which allows more executive trainees to enroll in training sessions for career development.
Clair Hattle, Director, IH Dubai said: “Business continuity and performance are the main challenges for employers during Ramadan, but soft skills improvement for employees can bring benefits for both employers and employees, especially if the programs offer certificates with international accreditation.” 
Hattle added that these qualifications are preferred mainly by UAE nationals because they hold value in the Emiratisation drive, opening new doors to rewarding careers in the private sector.
“We have seen a dramatic increase in demand for management programs and English, and we responded by developing a flexible schedule during Ramadan until July 28. We expect the higher demand for such programs to continue until the end of 2014,” Hattle said. “The UAE public and private sectors have a better understanding, nowadays, of applying international standards to the local workplace by investing in the soft skills of their employees during Ramadan.”
A majority of trainees during Ramadan are middle managers who are climbing up the ladder in their professional career paths. They choose Ramadan because of reduced workload in their workplace, and this leaves room for pursuing skills development programs.
Failan Saleem, Marketing Director, IH Dubai added: “We reduced the registration fees by 15% until the end of this campaign on the 28th of July, however training can commence anytime before the 31st of December, 2014. Our aim for this offer is to encourage companies in the UAE to consider this period for employees’ skills improvement.
Saleem concluded: “We take pride in enjoying a significant share of the training sector in the UAE. We notice that language, soft skills and ILM programs are among the top choices for local trainees during the Ramadan period.”
IH Dubai has been operating in Dubai for the past 10 years. It is part of IHWO, a 61-year-old body that represents a network of institutions worldwide committed to implementing high quality standards in education and training. 
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ICDL Commends Abu Dhabi Government’s ‘e-Citizen’ Initiative for Winning Award from ‘World Summit on the Information Society 2014’

Achievement consolidates Abu Dhabi’s leading position in global ICT arena
UAE, June 17, 2014 – ICDL GCC Foundation, an organization that promotes digital skills and cyber safety across the Gulf region and Iraq, has extended its greetings of congratulations to the Government of Abu Dhabi’s Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) for winning first place in the ‘Best Application of Information Technology (IT) and e-Learning’ category of the recently concluded World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The award was given in recognition of ADSIC’s successful implementation of the emirate’s ‘e-Citizen’ program—an initiative that aims to position Abu Dhabi as one of the best governments in the world. The ‘e-Citizen’ program falls in line with the vision of His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE and with the directions of His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi. Jamil Ezzo, Director General of ICDL GCC Foundation, relayed his greetings to ADSIC and lauded them for their win, which consolidates Abu Dhabi’s leading position in the global ICT arena.

According to Ezzo, Abu Dhabi’s ‘e-Citizen’ initiative is based on an ICDL program that was developed by the European Computer Driving License Foundation (ECDL) and represents strategic importance in the continuing move to fill the global digital gap by introducing, teaching and familiarizing IT literacy across all levels of society. The program provide Abu Dhabi residents with basic computer and internet skills that will enable them to optimally benefit from the UAE’s range of offered ‘e-Services,’ which is considered as one of the most prominent models of transformation into an integrated knowledge-based economy.
ICDL GCC Foundation and ADSIC signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) in 2011 that allowed ICDL to implement the ‘E-Citizen’ program across the UAE capital on a ‘Free of Charge’ basis. The landmark agreement aims to teach local residents on how to use and access basic ‘e-Services’ offerings like e-government, e-banking, job search websites, social media and others. The program also allows training and improving their e-participation skills and equipping them with the necessary tools needed in using computers and the internet efficiently–allowing easy access to various information resources online.
Furthermore, the strong partnership between ICDL and ADSIC has also resulted in the successful launch of various awareness programs, particularly targeting women and the youth segments, that seek to increase more awareness on the many benefits and advantages to be gained in learning digital skills and overcoming the challenges presented in the internet world.
About ICDL:
The International Computer Driving License (ICDL) is a global computer literacy initiative developed to provide knowledge about Information Technology (IT) and enhance competence of using personal computers and common computer applications for all the citizens of the world. The ICDL GCC Foundation is the sole body to implement and disseminate the program across the GCC States and Iraq with the support of leading educational institutions and accredited bodies. The Foundation mission is to enable proficient use of Information and Communications Technology that empowers individuals, organizations and society, through the development, promotion and delivery of quality certification programs around the world.
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Demand for Leadership training rose 15 % in first quarter of 2014, compared to same period last year

More UAE businesses focusing on developing their leaders from inside instead of exporting from overseas says International House Dubai
Dubai, UAE, 8 June 2014: International House Dubai (IH Dubai), a leading institution offering practical skills-based courses with international accreditation, has said that demand for leadership training in the UAE has risen 15 percent in the first quarter of 2014, compared to the corresponding period of 2013, thanks to the rebound in UAE economy.

“There is a significantly high demand for leadership and management training amongst UAE businesses across different industries,” says Clair Hattle, Director, IH Dubai. “UAE businesses are more challenging to training companies and centres to develop up to date programmes specifically tailored to boost the leaders practically and intellectually.”
IH Dubai believes that owning proven skills and practices in leadership helps in acquiring soft competencies in decision making, coaching, issues management, mentorship and inspiration and many other independent areas.
Hattle added: “The success of the leadership and management training disciplines in the UAE can be attributed to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai who has injected a culture of excellence and competence in the public and private sectors, thus setting a customized practice for these two very similar yet delicately different disciplines.”
“Producing competent management leaders in the private sector is crucial. Exporting executives to run businesses might not be the right strategy as leveraging on the current workforce of any entity is better than getting new executives from overseas who would not be aware of the market context,” emphasised Hattle.
Hattle said: “We pride ourselves as a certified centre for the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), the UK’s largest management body, combining industry-leading qualifications and specialist member services.”
ILM is founded on the principle that skilled managers and leaders hold the key to creating productive workforce that delivers organisational and economic success. Their qualifications and membership services combine to drive up the standards of leadership and management and improve individual and team performance. 
Hattle said: “Last year 90,000 people enhanced their leadership and management skills with an ILM qualification, while over 30,000 ambitious management professionals secured increased professional recognition and support through ILM membership.”
She added: “We specialise in providing lifelong learning and vocational courses to a large cross section of the UAE community, including leaderships in entities and we believe that this sector will be more maturing in the run-up to EXPO 2020 to meet the needs of local private businesses for competent leaders.”
IH Dubai has been in existence in Dubai for the past 10 years. It is part of IHWO which has been established for 61 years as a network of institutions worldwide that is committed to implementing high quality standards in education and training.
Hattle concluded: “Developing leadership characteristics hold the key for UAE businesses’ competencies.”