Expo 2020: Dubai Colleges Prepare

Expo 2020 has provided a focus for teaching specific skills that will be required in Dubai over the coming six years and beyond, according to attendees at the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (GETEX) which opened this week.

A study by The Talent Enterprise identified seven key industries for the emirate in the upcoming years, namely hospitality, transportation, retail, banking, finance, real estate and infrastructure.  Standard Chartered bank has also said that around 300,000 jobs will be created in the UAE up to 2020.

Getex, which is a yearly event, is designed to allow third level colleges and universities to showcase their offerings to potential students.  Organisers said that attendees to this year's event will have the opportunity to view and discuss around 2,500 academic, training and vocational programmes.

Anselm Godinho, Managing Director, International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC&E), the official organiser of the event, said: “Education is among the key priorities for the UAE, as reflected by the Dh140 billion budget for 2014-16 where 21 per cent has been allocated for social development and education. Dh9.8 billion from this total budget will be spent on public schools and higher education.”

Getex runs until April 11th at the Dubai World Trade Show Conference Halls.