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As part of its participation at the World Economic Forum, WEF, held in Dalian, China, the UAE Government signed on WEF’s Closing the Skills Gap 2020 programme to lead the upscaling efforts in the UAE and the region to equip the future workforce with the necessary skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, and Co-Chair of the current World Economic Forum, signed on the agreement with Borge Brende, President of World Economic Forum and Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, with the attendance of all members of the UAE Delegation.

Closing the Skills Gap 2020 programme is a global call for measurable commitments to train, reskill and upskill ten million persons in the current and future workforce.

The project aims to create a global community of experts and leaders in education and training, and to establish a network of national platforms to close skill gaps and reshape education and training for the future.

The UAE government has recently launched the strategy for the Advanced Skills National Programme to empower Emirati youth to develop new skill sets associated with the fourth industrial revolution technologies. Dr. Al Falasi noted that signing the agreement with the World Economic Forum reflects UAE Government’s keenness to promote skills upscaling to shape the future, overcome its challenges, and excel in all fields.

"The agreement goes in line with the UAE's strategy towards equipping young Emiratis with advanced skills to ensure that the UAE is prepared to take on future challenges, and this objective can only be achieved through consistent and continuous development of people’s skills, and by arming them with the necessary expertise to make sound decisions and propose innovative solutions," he added.

The UAE is an important partner of the World Economic Forum. The partnership is the culmination of a decade-long partnership of achievements and strategic collaboration between the UAE Government and the World Economic Forum.