The “Emirates Youth Professional School,” a Federal Youth Authority initiative, was launched on Monday, following the directive issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

The announcement falls on International Youth Day, celebrated annually on Aug.12.

Emirates Youth Professional School, EYPS, was launched to provide young individuals in the UAE with opportunities to improve their skills and career development opportunities, preparing them for the labour market through continious education. These upskill goals will be achieved through the provision of full-length professional courses and executive education programmes across various sectors via crowdsourcing instructors, teachers, experts and professionals in the UAE utilising an ‘uber-like model’.

The school will serve all youth in the UAE, aged 15-35, and will open its facilities and programmes in November 2019.

Commenting on the announcement, Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, said, “The Emirates Youth Professional School provides a unique educational experience that bridges gaps between the conventional academic learning and the rapidly changing labour market.”

This institution will embrace vocational training as a means to further enhancing skills obtained via academic training and meets with the future labour market, she added.

According to the EYPS website, the school is based on a “sustainable and organic crowdsourcing model” that utilises a mix of practical and theoretical learning. It will partner with various institutions, experts and professionals around the world, giving UAE youth the opportunity to acquire necessary skillsets in the evolving knowledge economy

Following the crowdsourcing model, EYPS aims to be the UAE’s largest school with its number of programmes, courses and partners.

Course offerings are based on the supply of knowledge offered by institutions and individuals, their participation, and their shared responsibility in building the capacities of young people in the UAE.

The UAE celebrates the International Youth Day. This year’s event sheds light on international efforts to provide and facilitate education for the youth. It also discusses ways to focus on youth issues and promote them as a powerful tool for achieving sustainable development goals.

The UAE is harvesting the fruits of its long-term efforts of supporting and preparing the youth to shoulder their responsibilities, strengthen their leadership skills, and involve them in the legislative and administrative decision-making process.

Since the establishment of the UAE in 1971, the country has adopted clear national policy and strategic plans to empower the youth and develop their capabilities. Education, an environment for innovation, and national policies to create suitable job opportunities help the youth to play an active role in the UAE community.

The Cabinet formed in February 2016 was called “Cabinet of Future” for including eight young new ministers, whose average age was 38, including Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, who assumed the post at the age of 22 to be the youngest minister in the world.

Saeed Saleh Al Rumaithi became a member of the Federal National Council, FNC, at the age of 31 to be the youngest member in the FNC’s history.

In 2016, the Cabinet adopted the establishment of the Emirates Youth Council, under the leadership of Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs.

The council undertakes various tasks, including developing a youth work system in the UAE, setting and mapping out strategies and policies for young people in line with the UAE’s future approaches. It also identifies challenges faced by the youth face in various sectors and propose solutions to overcome them.

The council’s tasks also include proposing necessary solutions to ensure the positive participation of young people in society across various sectors.

It also prepares studies on the role of youth in developing the society by opening all channels to hear their views and the challenges they face to provide the necessary solutions to boost their positive participation in various sectors in the country.

WAM