The British Council, in partnership with the Higher Education Council of the Ministry of Education, organised a two-day workshop on 10-11 June 2015. The workshop, entitled “Embedding Employability Skills in the Curriculum,” came as a follow-up to the First National Skills and Employability Summit on 9 June 2015. The workshop was delivered by Maureen Tibby and Doug Cole from the prestigious Higher Education Academy (HEA), UK to university leaders and professionals in the education field. Tibby and Cole have extensive experience in the field of employability skills and they are the authors of the HEA Employability Skills Framework, which is now being applied in a programme with 37 UK universities.
His excellency, Dr. Majid bin Ali Al Nuaimi, Minister of Education in the Kingdom of Bahrain, visited the workshop and thanked the partners and attendees for taking part in it.
We are very keen on supporting the development of education in the Kingdom.
Tony Calderbank, British Council Director, commented on this collaboration: “It is our pleasure at British Council Bahrain to work in collaboration with the Higher Education Council and to support such national initiatives that aim to create a better educational experience for Bahraini youth and further prepare them for the labour market. We are very keen on supporting the development of education in the Kingdom especially when it comes to internationalising higher education and skills for employability, which are two of our core areas of work at British Council.”
It is real progress that the Higher education academy is able to assist our universities build capacity in regard to curriculum design and modernisation.
Professor Riyad Hamzah, HEC Secretary General, Ministry of Education said “From our work producing the first industry and employer graduate skills requirements, it is clear that curriculums need to be made relevant to the needs of employers. I am delighted that in partnership with the British Council we have this opportunity to help universities understand how they can revise curriculums and keep them updated. It is real progress that the Higher education academy is able to assist our universities build capacity in regard to curriculum design and modernisation.”
This workshop introduced the HEA Employability Framework and how it could be used to support the embedding of employability in the curriculum. The participants reflected on the expectations of stakeholders and implications of policy and practice. The workshop supported participants to develop employability benchmarks for success. The participants left the workshop with an action plan, resources and toolkits to support embedding employability in the curriculum. Professor Riyadh Hamzah, HEC Secretary General, and Noora Al Sabah, English Project Manager, British Council co-opened the event on the day.
This workshop aimed to bridge the gap between the Higher Education sector and the Labour Market. It is hoped that it will further support and compliment the national initiatives and existing efforts to help the higher education providers in equipping students, the workers of tomorrow, with the skills needed by employers.