Crescent Petroleum and Edraak Launch Work Skills Online Courses That Aim To Reach 500,000 Youth in the Region

Crescent Petroleum, the first and largest private oil and gas company in the Middle East, has partnered with Edraak, the Arab World’s leading platform for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), to develop a series of open and free online career readiness courses to bridge the gap between the skills acquired during school or university and those required by the labor market. The courses are targeting more than 500,000 young people across the Middle East.

The Career Readiness specialization, which will be launched during 2020, delivers three successive courses: English for the Workplace, Digital Literacy for the Workplace, and Business Essentials. The three courses aim to equip young prospective job seekers with basic communication and working skills required in the modern workplace. For students in the UAE, the programme will to support government efforts to prepare young Emiratis to work in the modern workplace.

Industry research has highlighted that the single biggest impediment for youth employment are the soft skills required in modern office life. Edraak’s MOOC technology delivers a series of courses that can serve tens of thousands of young learners across the region via tailored tracks, equipping them with the work skills needed to enter and compete effectively in the labor market.

Edraak’s English for the Workplace course will tackle basic workplace communication, including drafting emails, memos, note-taking, and research. Edraak will develop the course in collaboration with the British Council to deliver world-class content.

Meanwhile, the Digital Literacy for the Workplace course covers the basics of the MS Office Suite, and goes into the details of working with MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Excel.

The final course, Business Essentials, will introduce learners to the concepts of business etiquette, emotional intelligence, performance and self-management, and workplace culture and dynamics. Learners who successfully complete all three courses will be better prepared to work in modern offices and will receive a certificate of completion.

Hassan Fattah, Director of Communications at Crescent Petroleum, said: “As policymakers and business leaders in MENA tackle the challenges of youth unemployment, it is critical that we intensify our efforts to develop life and soft skills for the modern workplace. Since our start in 1971, Crescent Petroleum has leveraged its understanding of the Middle East to promote cleaner energy and social sustainability, and our partnership with Edraak is an extension of that core mission.”

“This collaboration will help young people develop the important skills needed to grow, succeed, and enter the workplace better prepared,” he added

The collaboration reinforces Edraak’s mission of offering high-quality online education in Arabic and present solutions to the region’s educational challenges. CEO of Edraak, Shireen Yacoub, stated: “It is wonderful to see companies like Crescent Petroleum recognize the value of innovative educational solutions and engage in creating such opportunities on a wide scale. The unique perspectives of such leading private sector organizations allow us to continuously improve the learning experiences we offer on Edraak and to enhance their relevance to today’s job market needs.”

Jordan Country Director at the British Council, Joel Bubbers, commented on the second collaboration between Crescent Petroleum, Edraak, and the Council, saying: “We’re thrilled to be lending our experience to this project to help young people across the whole region develop the English language and soft skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace. At the British Council we’re passionate about inspiring hope among youth by providing them with the opportunity to acquire the skills they need to compete in today’s global marketplace.

“Our focus is on providing educational and cultural opportunities, and our 80 years in the MENA region have shown us the power of this mission to help young people realise their potential and, therefore, make positive change in their societies,” Bubbers explained.

Crescent Petroleum and Edraak had previously collaborated on launching a series of online English courses, which reached more than 500,000 people from across the MENA region. Those courses provided learners with the basic knowledge and skills needed to communicate in English and to pursue additional self-directed learning.

Based on Edraak’s experience over five years, the Career Readiness specialization is poised to be a pioneering online initiative that effectively prepares young people for the job market.