A new website, ArabCoders.ae, offers online certifications through courses such as website development, mobile interfaces, Android applications and training to become a data analyst. The portal is supported by Udacity, an educational organisation that provides online courses, as well as Middle East recruitment website Bayt.com.
In addition to classes and job postings, 1,000 students will receive scholarships, though the individual amounts have not been disclosed, as well as prizes for students totaling US$1.5 million (Dh5.51m). The top four tutors selected by students will also be incentivised, receiving $200,000 (Dh735,000).
“Our project is part of the global initiatives to create hope in the region and making a future for the youth in the area,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said. “We want to contribute even a fraction of a solution to the problem of unemployment in the Arab world.”
There is a gap in skills and available jobs for youth throughout the Middle East North Africa (Mena) region. The World Economic Forum (WEF) said 65 per cent of people in Mena are under age 25, yet 27 per cent of this age bracket is unemployed.
