Teachers face major challenges to prepare pupils for jobs that do not yet exist yet, a UAE minister has said.
Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education, said youngsters were living in a hugely disruptive era of the “fourth industrial revolution” with smartphones, video games, tablets and artificial intelligence radically reshaping the world.
Speaking on Tuesday at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, Ms Al Muhairi said that in the classrooms of today, the chalkboard had been replaced by digital smart boards and that teachers needed to help pupils to gain confidence, think independently and take risks to benefit from the opportunities this era brings.
“Looking at Google Trends for the year 2021, the youth of today belong to a time where 5.6 billion Google searches are carried out every day,” she said.
“We need to carefully examine our current reality, learning from global success and deeply understand what works, when, in education. Only then we can identify what is likely to be needed for the school of tomorrow.”
Ms Al Muhairi, who was speaking in a pre-recorded video address, oversees the Emirates Schools Establishment. The entity was created in 2019 to raise standards at public schools throughout the country.
She also touched on educating youngsters about sustainability, new teaching methods and why the social setting of the school is important. First, she said, schools had been improving teaching methods and placing more focus on science.
“In schools across the UAE, there have been efforts to improve teaching strategies, support Stem [science, technology, engineering and maths] subjects and engage pupils more in problem-solving and project-based work,” she said.
“Real learning will only happen when students are confident to criticise, examine and express their thoughts ... and when they address real issues that matter to them.”
Ms Al Muhairi also spoke about the environment and said it was important for schools to put it at the heart of their decision-making.
“Schools need to be sustainable spaces ... and contribute to an environmentally-friendly ecosystem,” she said.
“We believe that serious investments need to be directed towards the development of school physical environments.
“Pupils, today and in the future, will require personal interaction and more personalised learning that is relevant to their needs and to their real life,” she said.
Schools around the world have embraced online learning since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic but Ms Al Muhairi said schools would continue to be the natural, social and culture environments in which holistic learning would take place.
“Learning within a social community helps children develop empathy towards others, make friends, discover the value of tolerance and learn to care for their environments and community,” she said.
“School is where the values of citizenship and belonging develop.”
The minister said teachers required very advanced technological skills and a deep understanding of brain research and cognitive science, and would have to adapt their teaching strategies.
She called for a collective approach to a changed education system involving tertiary institutions, businesses, governments, and non-government organisations.
“They will also need to help pupils to make informed decision about their dreams, job and career choices,” said Ms Al Muhairi.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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