UAE, ADEC, and ADNOC Schools Share Commitment to Career Guidance

Students, teachers, and career advisors at all-female ADNOC Schools campus in Abu Dhabi lead the way in piloting the Abu Dhabi Education Council Career Planning System, powered by Kuder^®, an online platform designed support Emirati students' aspirations and decisions about educational and career pathways.

In 2014, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) selected global career guidance expert Kuder Visions Unlimited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuder, Inc. (Kuder) and Abu Dhabi-based Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training (CERT) to provide comprehensive career guidance services in alignment with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. As result, the all-female campus of ADNOC Schools was one of only ten private schools in Abu Dhabi chosen to participate in a pilot of the Abu Dhabi Education Council Career Planning System (ADECCPS), powered by Kuder^®, a system designed to help students discover more about career interests in and work-place values and, ultimately, find sustainable and meaningful work.

Prior to the launch of the ADECCPS and students gaining access the system, ADNOC School's Ms. Maya Cheaib completed Kuder Career Advisor Training^® (CAT), an internationally accredited professional development program, in March 2015.  Through CAT, Cheaib — now a certified Career Advisor — gained a full understanding of information available within the ADECCPS. CAT also provided Ms. Cheaib an opportunity to fine-tune skills and knowledge needed to deliver outstanding career exploration, career decision-making, job seeking, and job placement services to the students she advises each day.

"Choosing a career and corresponding field-of-study is a tremendous decision to a high-school student," said Cheaib. "CAT allowed me to better help my students narrow down choices that were best-suited to their interests, capacities, and capabilities."

The young women at the ADNOC School have had access to the system since the fall of 2015, and system usage has been outstanding. With the launch of the ADECCPS, each school participating in the pilot — including the ADNOC School — was provided 200 site uses. Almost immediately, the ADNOC School registered 200 students into the system, requiring Kuder to provide more access. To date, 365 students attending ADNOC School have created portfolios within the ADECCPS, 469 of Kuder's research-based assessments have been completed, with another 83 assessments currently in progress.

Students find that after completing the career interests, skills confidence, and work values assessments, the site has opens doors to explorations of many possibilities available to them. The ADECCPS suggests occupations that align with assessment results, along with the course of study necessary to enter those suggested occupations. From there, the young women at ADNOC School can explore colleges and/or universities offering specific majors that lead to their best-suited careers. The system is also a place where they are able to create, save, and share CVs/resumes, portfolios of work samples or references, and access other tools to help prepare for and achieve educational and career aspirations.

 "Kuder provides evidence-based assessments that are very efficient and helpful in providing insights to students," said Cheaib. "Kuder and the Abu Dhabi Education Council Career Planning System provide a great deal of support to students at the ADNOC School as they find out and achieve what they want to be."

"Kuder is thrilled to help prepare the young ladies attending Abu Dhabi's ADNOC School, and all Emiratis, prepare for sustainable and meaningful careers, and we look forward to watching them flourish from the effects of reliable, research-based career guidance and assessments," said Kuder president and CEO Phil Harrington. "It is an honor to be recognized by the Abu Dhabi Education Council as a solution able to support the objectives of Vision 2030. Finally, I want to offer my personal congratulations to students at the ADNOC School for their enthusiastic and impressive use of the system, and to those in the UAE who have completed Kuder Career Advisor Training to better meet Emirati students' needs."

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About ADNOC Schools: The mission of ADNOC Schools is to prepare Emirati and other students, through an academically rigorous curriculum, to achieve their highest potential in a global, technologically advanced society. In Abu Dhabi, the all-female ADNOC School campus is in line with the UAE government's pioneering initiatives and aims to become a premier school in the region, graduating highly competent, socially responsible citizens and future national leaders.

About Kuder: Over 165 million people have used Kuder's research-based career assessment, education planning, and guidance resources to help visualize which industry or career, field of study, or school to pursue next in life. Kuder helps ensure that people of all ages can unlock the power of their own potential and create a bright future. For more information, visit www.kuder.com or call 800.314.8972.