Civil Engineering deals with different structures from design and construction to maintenance and facilities management. A Civil Engineer is not only limited to construction but is also involved with the maintenance of the naturally built environment and infrastructure projects such as roads, railways and bridges. Most social and economic activities depend increasingly on engineering applications. To learn more about this fascinating profession, which seems to have so many applications and a seemingly long reach that contributes to all fields in our society, Summit Career Advisor Mahommed Adams decided to explore this field of Engineering further. He interviewed, Mrs Georgeta Salameh, who has over 25 years experience in the gulf region; 20 of those years specifically in the UAE. Mrs Salameh was asked a series of questions, which were designed to gain important information which could assist undergraduates and fresh graduates develop a more realistic perspective when looking at the career choice of Engineering. Q: How did you get involved in the field of Civil Engineering I became involved in this field as I wanted to contribute in a meaningful way to society at large. To this end engineering appealed to me as I felt that as an engineer I can contribute to society in a positive manner. I believe that engineers help a society develop itself. Q: Please elaborate on how an Engineer can help develop society In my opinion engineers don’t just design and construct building. By constructing buildings Engineers contribute to creating jobs and societies. They also leave something special, a legacy behind for future generations. Q: What excited you about this profession and your career? The exciting part of my profession and career is the satisfaction of seeing my work and the projects that I have been involved in and knowing that this work has in some way helped improve and even change a society or community’s life. Q: Is there a certain type of personality a person has to have to be in this profession? If you want to do well in this profession, you have to be a very sociable person, and not have a problem meeting and working with people often from different nationalities and religions. If you are a woman in this profession you need to have a robust character and learn to communicate with your colleagues as fellow engineers and not in terms of male and female. Q: What is it about your profession that you don’t like? I don’t like the fact that it is still difficult for girls to have a career in the field of engineering. Not because of their intellect, but due to various other reasons. Especially in civil engineering, the mentality is that it is a hard job for women to do and that a woman needs to dedicate more time to her family and less time on career. However, from my experience in the Gulf region, Arab Engineers are open to work with female engineers. If a girl wants to become an engineer she should consider all the facts and the consequences of her decision. She should know that when you starting to build your career, this will affect your family life. You might not get to spend as much time as you would like to with your family because in engineering you may have to work long hours or even the weekend to complete a project on time. Like any career, I think that a career as an engineer has its ups and downs. Engineers can have bad moments in their careers; they could make mistakes and projects they are working on could fail, having serious consequences for those involved. Thus engineers are always under a lot of pressure to perform and to ensure that they don’t make mistakes and complete the work within the deadline. Q: What are some of the opportunities available for females in Civil Engineering Women can play an active role in civil engineering. There are opportunities for them in the profession not only as engineers but also doing research, or working in an Engineering or Construction company as a Procurement Agent or Facilities Manager. Women must realise that when they are starting their careers they need to gain experience all facets of their profession including initially working on site. Q: What advice would you impart to students that want to pursue a career in Civil Engineering? In order to have a successful career in the field of engineering you need to be diverse in your thinking, as well as in your knowledge and experience. I suggest that students should be familiar with the various computer software programs used in the engineering field. You do not need to become an expert but should have a good understanding and use of the programmes. Also it advisable to obtain a Masters degree. However before you pursue a Masters degree you should gain some practical work experience (at least one year) before applying for a Masters program. Q: What is your prediction for the future of the engineering profession in the UAE for the next couple of years ? I believe that the engineering profession in the UAE will thrive especially in Abu Dhabi. I attribute this to that fact that Abu Dhabi has a lot of projects planned and there would be great opportunities for aspiring engineers. I think that there would be great opportunities for engineers in all disciplines ranging from Town Planners, Structural Designers and Construction Managers to Facilities Managers and even Research Engineers and Procurement Engineers

As part of labour market research activities, SUMMIT Recruitment Consultants Mohamed Wahab and Nadia Salamah interviewed Mr. Khaled Ali Odeh, Emiratization and Employee Relations Manager at Al Masraf Bank to gain more information about the needs within the Banking sector. Q: Can you give us a brief about Al Masraf Bank? A: Al Masraf Bank was established in 1976. It’s owned by 3 governments which are Algerian, Libyan and United Arab Emirates. It’s small and very active in the market. It has seven branches across UAE and a lot of VIPs are considered our clients. Q: What is the size of workforce within Al Masraf and nationality break down? A: Currently Al Masraf Bank has 290 employees working within the company, our employees are from different nationalities, such as Asia(India, Pakistan) then other Arab Countries, such as Sudan Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, Libya and Jordan, and off course we have UAE Nationals as well. Q: What is Al Masraf’s Emiratisation Target? A: Annually we have 4% as a target as it is instructed from UAE Central Bank. If we don’t meet this percent for 2 years, Central bank will send us a warning letter that’s why we are trying to hire Emiratis as much as we can to achieve our target. On the same pattern we are working on establishing new branches to gain more staff especially Emiratis and we are planning to open two new branches in Dubai and in Sharjah. Q: When hiring good employees, do you think attitude is more important than skills? Why? A: Yes I do think that Attitude is more important than skills. If an employee has the required skills but has a bit of attitude problem he/she will hardly ever achieve performing their tasks or duties. By the same token, someone with a great attitude but has less required skills will always be trying to improve himself/herself. When hiring a person with a great attitude, this employee will push you and make you look good. Before you know it, the employee will outgrow the position and want, as well as need, to move on trying to hire as many Emiratis as we can to achieve our target. On the same pattern we are working on establishing new branches to gain more staff especially Emiratis and we are planning to open two new branches in Dubai and in Sharjah. Q: When hiring good employees, do you think attitude is more important than skills? Why? A: Yes I do think that attitude is more important than skills. If an employee has the required skills but does not have the right attitude for work, he/she will hardly ever achieve performing their tasks or duties. By the same token, someone with a great attitude but has less required skills will always be trying to improve himself or herself. When hiring a person with a great attitude, this employee will push you and make you look good. Before you know it, the employee will outgrow the position and want, as well as need, to move on. Q: What are the general skills you require from job seekers (fresh graduate)? A: For UAE Nationals we don’t have high expectations because we can accept high school or diploma graduates and some knowledge in using or working with computers. For other nationalities we do require some experience between 2-3 years to reflect their skills and to start working directly. Also, we require high degrees like Bachelor’s or Master’s as well as good knowledge of IT and English language skills. Q: What about the qualities required? A: At Al Masraf we require high quality knowledge, work ethic and experience for the management levels as well for entry levels as we mentioned for expatriates and locals. Q: Does Al Masraf Bank provide work experience training or internships for fresh graduates? If yes, what is your program and how can the graduates know about it? A: Yes, we do provide internships for students. For example last year we received some Emiratis from HCT and UAE University, but we are not paying for our sponsorship at the present, we only train them in the same department which relates to their major. But at Al Masraf we always support our employees in learning, developing, improving and getting the updated courses and certificates through sending them abroad to attend specific courses and related programs. Q: In your opinion, can you give us a general point of view on the economic outlook particularly in banks? And what about the recruitment trends after the financial crises? A: As you know there are 57 banks working around UAE, most of them were affected by the financial crises because of the retail or mortgages services but as we don’t offer these services, our situation is very stable and it is supported by other reasons as well such as; we have other sources that protect us, as I said there’s a 3 governments sharing in this bank, therefore, the government of Libya is securing enough money for the bank to protect us in such situations. As well our big clients deposit a lot of money in the banks and its projects. The recruitment trends in the market looks increasingly great since last year, big recruitment agencies ask for 12 – 30% from the annual salary, which is a high percentage that reflects a positive flow in the market for recruitment. As well, many organizations are expanding and departmental changes are taking place which also shows that there is recruitment in the market. Q: From your perspective, what should the university focus on while students are still studying and before they start commence their career? A: The University should focus more on improving the English level of students, even after graduation the students should focus on practical training to start their career. Q: From your point of view, what are the challenges that fresh graduates face when applying for jobs? How can Al Masraf help or support? A: Fresh graduates tend to have high expectations like salary and position level regardless that most of them don’t have much experience. The support and help that the graduate can get from Al Masraf Bank is that they are talking with the candidates and new employees to motivate them and develop them in their career path.

Summit Career Interest Guide paper presented at Counselling Arabia: Sessions were presented on the Summit Career Interest Guide that has been designed by Summit to assist those who wish to start thinking about career options, by May Ibrahim and Chris Jolliffe at the prestigious Counseling Arabia Annual Conference 2010 on 27th April. Some 300 delegates attended the 3-day conference where 27 workshops were presented at the Dubai Women’s College. Delegates who opted to attend one of the presentations, which were offered in both Arabic and English, on the Summit Career Interest Guide heard about the team developed initiative, the structure of the questionnaire, which relates to the work of the celebrated American psychologist John L. Holland, how enthusiastically it has been received by many individuals who have now completed the questionnaire, and future developments. Future developments highlighted at the sessions include the design of a computer program of the guide, and adaptation for use on the Summit Career Management Services web site. Chris Jolliffe said, “May and I were delighted to present our work to develop the career interest guide. The presentation was well received, and many careers professionals in the UAE seem eager to start to use it.” For further information about the Summit Career interest Guide, Please contact Mr. Chris Jolliffe, Assessment Manager, SUMMIT at chris.jolliffe@summit-uae.com or on 971-2-501-5437. Practitioner Training - The future of guidance in the UAE: Supervisory Careers Advisors, Emma Blakemore and Sarah Young, presented a workshop at the recent Counselling Arabia Conference held at Dubai Women’s College. The presentation focused on the development and delivery of a customised Career Guidance qualification, designed by SUMMIT Careers Management Services in Abu Dhabi and Edexcel, the UK awarding body. In 2009, the course received an ‘A’ grading from the External Verifier at Edexcel for the quality of training and assessment. The course is led by experienced Careers Guidance Practitioners who have knowledge of the sector in the United Arab Emirates as well as from an international perspective. The workshop which was delivered to conference delegates considered the preparation for the qualification design, including development of resources, taking into account local culture. Summit provided an overview of each the qualification modules, looking at content and how assessment is carried out. In order to demonstrate the benefits that the course offers to practitioners as well as students and job seekers, there were a couple of video testimonials shown. The first was of a career advisor who had taken the qualification about his professional development and the benefits he gained from the course. Then there was a video clip of a female Abu Dhabi University graduate, discussing her own perspective of the impact and usefulness of the guidance process. The workshop was concluded by discussing the benefits of training with regard to raising the profile of the careers guidance profession and the future of guidance in the UAE. Delegates also had the opportunity to express their interest in the formation of a Careers Association, which many colleagues in the sector confirmed that they would find beneficial. For more information about the BTEC Level 4 Professional Diploma in Careers Advice and Counselling offered by SUMMIT, please contact Emma Blakemore at emma.blakemore@summit-uae.com or on +971-3-7090-594 and +971-50-664 5823.

‘Practice makes perfect’ seems to be a motto in mind among Recruitment Consultants in introducing the Mock Interview activity, the latest recruitment team support service, to client job seekers. An initiative being offered exclusively by SUMMIT to committed job seekers, this activity was launched in September to Abu Dhabi University graduates. Since then, the latest career support service has become quite popular with ADU alumni and graduating students alike. Unlike the usual individual career sessions, this recruitment activity walks the jobseeker through a first hand experience of a panel placement screening interview. The main goal of the activity is to practice and critique each jobseeker’s approach to typical job interview questions and scenarios. Prior to the meeting, the jobseeker is given a preparation kit containing a graduate interview guide booklet, a job vacancy ad and simulated job description for a position in line with the jobseeker’s career plan. The actual Q&A session involves careers advisers probing about technical qualifications based on the given job description and asking situational questions. The last part of the activity is a feedback and critique session wherein the participants of the session discuss strengths and areas for improvement for the jobseeker. Although this might strike some as a tedious activity to go through, jobseekers who have participated in the activity confirmed otherwise: “The questions asked were simple and typical of questions I encountered during my previous job interviews. In the critique session, it all made sense. I was given pointers on how I should organize my thoughts and provide information required of the usual interview opening discussion such as “Tell me something about your self” says Abeer who is now hired at a medical facility in Abu Dhabi. Fatima, a graduate of Management Information Systems told us about benefits that she gained from the process: ”I am now more confident about myself and my response to questions to job interview. I felt better during the session when I was advised on several responses that I was worried about. It was a good experience to go through, it made me rethink of more objective and organized ways of responding to situational questions.” To know more information about the Mock Interview, jobseekers are advised to contact SUMMIT offices located at ADU Al Ain and Abu Dhabi campuses. Interested jobseekers who would like to participate in the activity may coordinate with their Careers Adviser to book an appointment. how I should organize my thoughts and provide information required of the usual interview opening discussion such as, “Tell me something about your self,” says Abeer, who is now hired at a medical facility in Abu Dhabi. Fatima, a graduate of Management Information Systems, told us about benefits that she gained from the process: ”I am now more confident about myself and my response to questions in job interviews. I felt better during the session when I was advised on several responses that I was worried about. It was a good experience to go through, it made me rethink of more objective and organized ways of responding to situational questions.”

New social media tools offer job seekers and employers a great opportunity to network. From the Job seeker perspective, there is the opportunity to network with professionals in their field as well as find out about the most up to date employment opportunities. Although the CV is an important recruitment tool, social media offers employers a chance to look up prospective candidates, to see if they have an online social profile and what message their profile communicates about their interests, talents and capabilities. For today’s job seekers it is important to engage with new social media tools in order to create an ‘online personal brand’, which gives a clear overview of your skills and achievements and what special skills or qualities you can offer an employer. There are many useful social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MyBlogLog, Myspace, and other tools such as YouTube, SlideShare and Google Reader. Using LinkedIn for Job Search LinkedIn is a site that allows you to connect to people you know. It also allows you to see profiles of anyone else on LinkedIn, and gives you ways to connect to them, even if you do not directly know them. Here are some ways that you can use LinkedIn in a job search: Company Search: One of the best ways to use LinkedIn is if you have a very specific company you are interested in. You search for that company, and hopefully find people who are connected to other people you know. Then, you can ask your personal contact to connect you. Job Postings: LinkedIn allows employers to post jobs on the site. The jobs are usually high quality, professional jobs. Email: There is the possibility to send emails to your contacts, or groups of contacts in order to inform them of your job search and ask if they can connect you with any useful contacts. LinkedIn groups: There is the possibility to join any relevant groups to your professional interests. An example of this is the LinkedIn group ‘09 Grads’, a global group aimed at providing advice to recent graduates. Manage your profile You can maximise the benefits of your LinkedIn profile through the following methods: Recommendations: You can ask contacts to recommend you. This recommendation appears on your profile. Interesting to see how other people rate your skills and abilities; particularly attractive to potential employers! Status Updates: Like Facebook, LinkedIn also has status updates. It is a good idea to update your status to inform your contacts what professional, work or development activities you have been engaged with. Headline: LinkedIn gives you a place to add a professional headline, which should read as exciting and enticing! Blog Link and Twitter Link: LinkedIn now gives you the ability to link your blog posts and Tweets to your profile. So every time you post a new blog post or Twitter it automatically updates on your profile, so anyone looking at your LinkedIn profile will see what you’re writing about. It also includes the updated post in the weekly update emails that go out to your connections. Sign up to LinkedIn now to discover more: http://www.linkedin.com/

Lead by the British Council and in partnership with SUMMIT, Siobhan Neary, Deputy Director of the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) at the University of Derby in the UK, facilitated workshops in Dubai and Abu Dhabi at the end of March. Aimed at professionals who are leading strategically on the development and implementation of Careers Advice and Guidance Services in the UAE, the workshops aimed to provide a platform for sharing best practice to inform strategic planning and decision making about service provision. The workshops allowed participants to consider advice and guidance activities within their institutions, as well as considering an overview of best practice models within the Careers Advice and Guidance Field. Models considered included the United Kingdom and Australia models, considering how elements of these models could be applied to guidance services in the UAE. The workshops enabled participants to identify where there are current gaps in provision and activities which could support the development of Careers Advice and Guidance services in the future. As a follow up to these strategic workshop, SUMMIT will facilitate two practitioner workshops in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in April, which aim to support career guidance practitioners working in the sector to explore the role of the practitioner, to provide an overview of best practice models, and to provide an overview of quality assurance and evidence based practice. In addition to this, practitioners will be able to discuss current resources used within career guidance practice as well as the chance to initiate a professional network and identify future training needs for the sector. The workshops have been developed by SUMMIT in association with the British Council and the International Centre for Guidance studies at the University of Derby in the UK.

SUMMIT staff were available to offer help to prospective students and their parents at the ADU open day that took place on Saturday 20th March in Abu Dhabi and Saturday 27th March in Al Ain. Around 200 students attended the event in Abu Dhabi. Questions to advisers included what is career guidance, how can Summit help ADU Undergraduates in deciding what to do after achieving a Bachelors Degree, how to find a job after graduation and what careers are available from different subject specialisms. Some students sought information on finding employment during study. Around 30 students opted to take the ‘Summit Career Interest Guide’ that created a unique profile of their motivations related to career preferences. Reem, a grade 12 student from Abu Dhabi said “I found the interest guide really helped me to decide what I really want to do, and because I discovered I am interested in both art and practical things, so I will definitely apply for the Interior Design course at Abu Dhabi University this year.”