3 lessons from the Middle East’s reskilling revolution

The global job market is undergoing a seismic shift. Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics will and already are impacting jobs across several industries, replacing some roles and changing the nature of others. Up to 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted between 2023 and 2028.

Reskilling is therefore a global priority. Equipping workers with the right skills for the future works best when public and private bodies work together. Indeed, it presents an opportunity: faster progress on education and upskilling could add an estimated $8.3 trillion to global GDP by 2030.

Many countries in the GCC have diversified their economies, and are transitioning from oil-based to knowledge-based sectors. This shift has brought with it an urgent need for upskilling and reskilling, and universities are responding. In 2023, Abu Dhabi University unveiled a suite of new undergraduate degrees in areas such as technology, data management, sustainability, critical thinking, problem solving, emotional intelligence and entrepreneurship. The enhanced qualifications were geared towards improving the soft and technological skills needed to thrive in the workplace of the future.

In Bahrain, educators have also been working alongside government institutions and local businesses to explore how to prepare students for the workplace of the future. Here are three lessons from that reskilling effort.

Some 83 million jobs might be lost as a result of the rapidly shifting technological landscape, but AI should be seen as both a challenge and an opportunity for the job market.

Students must be taught that such tools can complement, rather than replace, skills like critical thinking and teamwork. By applying a problem-based thinking model and being required to work in teams to solve real-life problems, students can be taught to harness this tech. Students might, for example, be given spreadsheets and tasked with interpreting a dataset. After this, they may use AI tools to determine whether they reach the same conclusions. This approach reinforces the importance of critical analysis and thinking, key skills for tomorrow's graduates.

Reskilling efforts are focused on more than just AI. In 2023, a new partnership in Saudi Arabia was formalized with the aim of upskilling and reskilling Saudi youth across areas of deep technology. As well as nurturing AI talent, the goal of the partnership between Systems Arabia and Taibah Valley was to build skills in blockchain, IoT, AR and VR.

Institutions across the region are launching schemes to train their workforces in other key sectors. The Bahraini Labour Fund (Tamkeen) has launched the Cyber Security Training Program to provide vocational training and connect students with future employers, through a partnership with the world-renowned SANS Institute. The UAE has launched similar initiatives to strengthen talent development in advanced technology areas as part of its Fourth Industrial Revolution Strategy. Reskilling programmes such as these will enable the Middle East to seize the opportunities that emerging technologies offer.

Academics risk becoming disconnected from what is happening outside their institutions, and there can be a perception that universities are slow to react to the changing demands for skills from employers. Of British businesses, for example, only 7% said university graduates joining the workforce are adequately prepared for the impacts of AI.

This illustrates the need for closer collaboration between universities and the private sector. Partnering with leading businesses helps educators understand what skills will be needed in future workplaces, so they can design programmes to help students gain those skills. Bahrain’s Labour Fund Tamkeen runs “Skills Bahrain,” a national initiative that promotes skills development for Bahraini employees. Skills Bahrain works closely with employers, educators and government stakeholders to provide them with the necessary intelligence and tools to understand the skills that workers require.

At Bahrain Polytechnic, approximately 1,500 students work full time who are also enrolled on reskilling or upskilling programmes developed with, and funded by, local companies — including Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), one of the largest smelters in the world, and the Bahrain Petroleum Company. This is helping them to learn new skills in diverse areas, from mechanical or electrical engineering to ICT or HR.

Outdated approaches to education need to be revised. Rote learning, or the idea that formal education ends either at high school or when you finish your undergraduate degree will increasingly be a thing of the past. If we are to embrace the reskilling revolution, we must adopt a new approach.

Precisely how that happens will vary by country and by educational institution. Firstly, it requires us to reimagine the lifespan of education. Rather than considering education to be something that ends when students graduate, we should understand that it’s just the start of their journey. This approach should encourage more graduates to enroll on professional qualification courses, apprenticeships and other training programmes.

Integrating professional development programmes into academic programmes that recognize practical experience is a good place to start. For example, diplomas can be completed flexibly and offer options to advance to degree-level studies. In the UAE, for example, Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education works to help ensure that young people develop industry-relevant skills through short courses and “nano” degrees.

At a national level, Bahrain has launched two initiatives to extend education further into people’s careers. Employment Skills Platform to identify skills gaps in the job market, and Hope Talents to elevate international competitiveness and expedite the growth of Bahrain’s local talents through training and upskilling.

As part of its Reskilling Revolution, the World Economic Forum is working with over 350 organizations to provide 1 billion people with better education, skills and economic opportunities by 2030. This multi-stakeholder initiative includes 34 ministers in 17 countries, more than 370 organizations, as well as business members, chief learning officers, online learning providers, unions, NGOs and education practitioners.

Any significant changes to the world of work, including those driven by technological advances, are bound to make the education sector challenge its own thinking and approaches, especially as the sector has sometimes struggled to adapt to such shifts. The opportunities of the reskilling revolution are enormous: Reskilling and upskilling of the current global workforce can boost GDP by $6.5 trillion by 2030.

More importantly, it means we can ensure students are fully prepared for a workplace that is changing beyond recognition, and ensure they have purpose-driven and fulfilling jobs for many decades to come.