Helping the youth from desk job to day job

The Middle East, and the Gulf Cooperation Council in particular, is investing heavily in education to tackle high levels of youth unemployment and close the wide gap in skills between what students learn and what the market wants. While higher quality and relevant educational offerings are important, our research has shown a corresponding need for career development programs where large unused potentials wait for public and private sector engagement instead of the current haphazard approach. Industrialized countries’ education systems teach career development directly and indirectly. For instance, the United Kingdom and Canada have built indirect career development opportunities into higher education curricula, widening the focus from immediate choices to personal development and broader decision-making. In combining traditional career counseling and personality aptitude testing with extracurricular activities, the broader programs instill confidence in students, an understanding of the importance of enterprise plus the ability to seize opportunities and to engage in