Do you dream about working towards a greener future in the Middle East but simply don’t know where the good jobs are? If so, you might want to head over to the 7th World Future Energy Summit (WFES), where Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and Reed Exhibitions are hosting a “Green Career Fair.”
Since green jobs are something of a new thing in the Middle East and North Africa, it may be hard for some people to know where to find them.
The Green Career Fair provides a platform for potential employers and employees to meet, and on site workshops, a Career Advice Desk, and HR professionals will provide insight into the kinds of jobs that are available in the renewable energy field in particular.
In addition to providing a map to green jobs for people seeking work, the fair allows companies who are seeking skilled employees to advertise current openings and interview people directly at the fair. This process helps cut down the cost and time typically associated with attending and conducting numerous interviews.
“Platforms such as the Green Career Fair offer emerging clean energy professionals the right channel for their professional development through engaging with industries in the field to discuss future trends in clean energy capacity building,” said Dr Behjat Al Yousuf, Masdar Institute’s dean of students.
Naji El Haddad, who is the director of WFES, noted that the fair offers the ideal setting to bring together people who are either directly or indirectly involved in the renewable energy sector, and those who wish to be.
“Building sustainable communities across the Mena region is of vital economic and strategic importance for future sustainability,” said El Haddad. “There is an increasing need for youth to develop careers in renewable energy sectors.”
Three companies who will be present at the fair include Eden Energy Group, Microsol, and Acwa Power. In addition to advertising available jobs, they are also interested to convince young graduates and professionals of the benefits of getting involved with the green economy, as opposed to the fossil fuel industry, for example.
“It is a proven fact that renewables, with particular reference to distributed generation, create the maximum local jobs per megawatt,” said J Vishwanathan, Microsol’s director. “This was proven even in high-cost countries such as Germany and Japan. The same is relevant to MENA.”
The Green Career Fair will be co-located with the second edition of the International Water Summit and the inaugural EcoWASTE exhibition, also hosted by Masdar, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, from January 20-22, 2014.
Green Prophet will be there, so be sure to pop on by to say hello.
Image of male engineer via Shutterstock
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
