ABU DHABI // Up to 55 Emiratis will undergo a four-month paid training programme designed to get them into public classrooms working as teachers.
The recruits are the second batch of the Edaad Training Programme, which was launched last year to meet Abu Dhabi Education Council’s target of 50 per cent Emiratisation of the teaching workforce by 2018.
“Adec needs qualified educators who spare no efforts to enhance their skills,” said Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Adec’s director general, on Monday.
Edaad, which means training or development in Arabic, targets unemployed education graduates who have never worked as teachers, but have the academic credentials to do so.
“So those teachers, either they are specialised in a different speciality and we don’t have a need in that speciality, and they don’t mind to be reskilled and join the workforce,” said Salama Alameemi, Adec’s executive director of organisational development and excellence.
“Or, through the interview, we found out that there is a small development area that we need to work on.”
The Emirates College for Advanced Education will start providing the training this month.
The professional development will include theoretical and on-the-job training focused on improving the graduates’ classroom management, pedagogy and English proficiency skills, Ms Alameemi said.
The teachers, who include two men, will receive a monthly stipend for their participation and a job placement on completion of the programme.
“That’s why that programme was developed, because we don’t want to miss any teacher who is willing to join the workforce,” Ms Alameemi said.
Adec currently employs 4,390 Emirati teachers and 3,231 Emirati administrative staff. Emiratis make up 39 per cent of all teachers working in the emirate’s public schools and 82 per cent of the school-based administrative staff. The percentage of nationals working at Adec’s headquarters is 66 per cent.
The trainees were recruited by Adec with the help of Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council (ADTC), which keeps a database of Emirati graduates who are seeking employment. To qualify, they had to have scored well on the International English Language Testing System and earned a minimum 2.5 grade point average. Applicants also had to pass an interview.
Last year, 37 teachers took part in the programme and 35 who completed it were hired.
“Nationals form a high percentage of the total number of employees, and Adec will exert all its efforts to increase this percentage,” said Ali Rashed Al Ketbi, ADTC chairman.
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