Course prepares students for a spot in workplace



DUBAI // Fifteen special needs students who crossed the stage at a graduation ceremony yesterday left with broad smiles and a more certain future.

They were the fourth group of students to take part in a nine-month training programme, organised by Emirates National Oil Company in partnership with Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre, to enhance their professional and social skills, and prepare them for a place in the workforce.

All of the students are around the age of 18 and, after walking off the stage, they were eager to show off their new certificates to family and anyone else who would listen.

Anita Menon is 18 and has Down syndrome.

She giggled and smiled as she recounted her days in the programme. "I was excited in the office, doing photo-copy, fax and scanning also," she said. "I did work a lot."

Her father, Ramdas Menon from India, said he was appreciative of the training his daughter had received.

"She is very happy to have completed the programme and her typing speed increased a lot," Mr Menon said.

Khalid Hadi, the director of brand and corporate communications at Enoc, explained: "We gave them on-the-job training at Enoc, which gave them a chance to work closely with staff and customers to build in their competency levels."

The students worked with mentors to improve their computer skills, data entry, language and communication.

According to one mentor, the challenge was difficult for both students and teachers.

"I had first-hand experience in teaching them last year and it's not easy," said Sameera Lashkari, a learning and development officer at Enoc. "You have to talk to them slow and hold their hand."

Ms Lashkari recalled a lesson she gave in CV writing that went horribly wrong after one of her students made a fuss after being told she could not put down "princess" as her name. The student replied: "But everyone says that I am a princess".

"I explained to her that no employee will take you seriously for a job," Ms Lashkari said.

"Then she cried and was angry for a whole day. You have to be very careful about how you approach them because they can be very sensitive."

In the end, however, the CV writing lessons appear to have paid dividends.

"We can see the progress they have made since first joining the programme," said Maryam Othman, director of Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre. "We are happy to say that some of them have already found jobs."

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Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

MATCH DETAILS

Manchester United 3

Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)

Partizan Belgrade 0

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Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
List of officials:

Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.

Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.

The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km

Price: from Dh285,000

On sale: from January 2022 

How to vote in the UAE

1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/

2) Take it to the US Embassy

3) Deadline is October 15

4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll

The biog

Name: Younis Al Balooshi

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn

Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design

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