Emirates Aviation College (EAC) and Edexcel have called for more efforts to boost vocational education in the Gulf, as there is a need for GCC education system to work on introducing students to the real-world workplace.

This announcement was made to mark the celebrations of 11th anniversary of partnership between EAC and Edexcel.

Mark Andrews, regional director, Mena/Caribbean, Edexcel said: “EAC has been successful because they are tailoring training programmes to the needs of the labour market in the aviation sector. They also had a target of having more nationals in the aviation sector and they achieved this because they leverage on vocational education to prepare job-ready students for the workplace.”

Andrews added: “It is sad that for many businesses in the GCC, a short, job-specific training course can be a quicker passport to employment or career advancement than four years of academic study that is more focused on theory than real practice.”

“No education system, private or public, can hope to fulfil its role as a provider of job-ready individuals without understanding the market’s requirements. The situation in the GCC is far from the level necessary for employers and jobseekers in the region,” he said.

Andrews added: “After four years of study, university graduates still need a lot of training. Part of the problem is that businesses do not have opportunities to influence education policies, effectively rendering the education system inadequate for meeting their needs.”

'Emirates Aviation College relentlessly works on expanding its curriculum to meet market needs. We boast a multicultural environment at the college as we welcome students from around the world. We also continuously strengthen our ties with the aviation community to keep abreast with the newest technologies and share best practices adopted worldwide,' said Dr Ahmad Al Ali, vice chancellor, EAC.

Andrews said: “Vocational qualifications are a feasible, high quality alternative to university study and the successes being achieved by our partners in the region, including EAC, demonstrates the impact of this approach.”

Dr Al Ali added: “EAC is one of the few institutions that have local and expatriate students. The BTEC qualifications that EAC offers are aerospace engineering, electronics engineering and computing, computer software development, aviation management, business management and travel and tourism management.” – TradeArabai news Service