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Pearson in Practice First International Training Centre Officially Opens in Dubai Knowledge Village

Thursday, 02 February 2012

Pearson in Practice, one of the UK’s largest providers of vocational and technical training and development, has officially opened its first International Training Centre in Dubai Knowledge Village, a member of TECOM Investments’ Education Cluster.

Ibrahim Moosa Jamel, Director of Operations, TECOM Investments’ Education Cluster, welcomed Pearson in Practice to Dubai Knowledge Village at a ceremony that was held on 29 January.

The Centre is currently offering programmes in IT, and Business, and will be later this year launching further programmes in Business Admin, Customer Services and Employability Skills. The institution aims to continue to add new industry-specific streams later in 2012. All the programmes lead to internationally accredited qualifications recognized widely by employers and higher education institutions.

Dr Ayoub Kazim, Managing Director, TECOM Investments’ Education Cluster, said: “The presence of Pearson in Practice at Dubai Knowledge Village brings us another step closer to the emirate’s vision of creating a strong knowledge-based economy. Such professional organizations play an important role in enhancing the intellectual capital and the capabilities of regional businesses to effectively meet new challenges.”

The Pearson in Practice model is based on providing practical job skills that are in demand among employers. Based on an apprenticeship model, many of the programmes include a valuable element of work placement internship that allows learners to apply the acquired skills into a real work environment.

Fiona McBride, CEO, Pearson in Practice, said: “From our experience of working with governments and industries in other countries, we see many school leavers and graduates leaving with little hands-on knowledge and skills in key business areas and not entirely ready to make an impact at work. Some of these sectors are facing a manpower crunch because of their inability to recruit enough people with the right experience and competency. We aim to overcome this gap through working closely with employers and the government.”

She continued “The UAE is a market that is already known to Pearson through our presence in the publishing and assessment landscape. It was, therefore, a natural choice to open our first Pearson in Practice International Training Centre here. We recognise a growing demand for the provision of high quality skill development in a number of key sectors.

“Within the UAE, Dubai Knowledge Village is recognised as a premier destination for people to acquire and develop quality ‘learning and development’, which best supports our own aims and objectives as a premier learning organisation. Being a part of Dubai Knowledge Village will help us reach out to the UAE employer and learner community more effectively. Our centre at Dubai Knowledge Village is the perfect first step for our expansion plans in the region, which we aim to further translate through opening new centres across the GCC in the short-term.”

Established in 2003, Dubai Knowledge Village is home to over 450 professional centres specialized in HR development, professional testing, as well as management training and consultancy services.