• Online course to deliver modules focused on interviewing skills, resume writing, how to find a good job and ultimately how to thrive at work
  • Crescent Petroleum and Edraak aim to reach 1 million enrollments to enable young people across the MENA region to reach their full potential.

Sharjah, UAE—Crescent Petroleum, the oldest and largest privately held oil and gas company in the Middle East, has expanded its partnership with Edraak, the Arab World's leading nonprofit platform for online skilling and training, to launch the Career Compass Pathway aimed at helping up to 1 million young people to find better jobs and prepare for a new world of work.

The Career Compass Pathway will deliver four online modules each focused on how to stand out as a candidate, how to interview, and ultimately how to thrive at work. The four courses include Digital Literacy, CV Writing, Job Search Skills, and Interview Skills, focusing on the essential job skills for future success in the workplace: how to stand out as a candidate, how to interview, and how to thrive at work.

 The Arabic-language courses, which were launched today, are free of charge to all users who register, and those who successfully complete the four courses will receive a certificate of completion.

Youth unemployment in MENA reaches 30% in some parts of region, the highest anywhere in the world. It has emerged as the leading challenge facing governments and policymakers in the region, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated the situation for new entrants into the job market. The Career Compass Pathway aims to equip young people with the skills to enable them to succeed in the modern workplace.

Industry research has highlighted that the single biggest impediment to youth employment are the soft skills required in modern office life. Crescent Petroleum has long invested resources in outreach efforts across the region to empower  young people and to close the skills gap many face in the new world of work.

Crescent Petroleum and Edraak aim to reach one million enrollments with the Career Compass Pathway to enable young people across the MENA region to reach their full potential. The Edraak Career Readiness Programme launched by the partners in 2020 saw more than 400,000 registrants for courses in basic office IT, English for the Workplace and overall professional workplace presentation and appearance.

Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum said: “We have long been focused on enabling the region’s young people to grow and reach their full potential. This programme of online courses aims to help 1 million young people across the Arab World to become more employable, find better work and improve their future.”

Bassem Saad, Chairman of Edraak, expressed pride for the enduring educational partnership between Crescent Petroleum and Edraak in support of youth employment needs, “Linkages in skills development and the requirements of the private sector are a critical bridge to creating a pathway from education to employment. Edraak is thrilled to see the successes of Arab youth completing this program with a competitive set of high-demand skills.”

The Edraak Career Compass can be found at https://www.edraak.org/programs/specialization/cr101-vv3/

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Further details about the Career Compass Pathway:

  • The initial course will teach applicants how to search for a job and how to build a personal profile, offering strategies to search for the right job aligned with the applicant’s interests and aspirations. It will teach the basics of writing a compelling CV, and offer practical advice on how to effectively seek professional opportunities.
  • The second course is focused on developing practical interview skills. Applicants will be taught how to respond to common interview questions, how to understand the effect of personality for interviews, and the importance of professional appearance.
  • The third course, Principles of Effective Communication, focuses on day to day life once they find a job, and how to communicate effectively with people around them and build a successful career. Learners will focus on the art of communication and understand some of the most important terms in this field, including Idea Management, Awareness, and expressing self-confidence.
  • Finally the fourth course, Effective Business English Communication, will focus on business communication in English, to improve candidates’ professional communication and language skills in the multilingual workplace.

About Crescent Petroleum:                                          

Crescent Petroleum is the first and largest private exploration and production company in the Middle East, with over 51 years of experience as an international operator in numerous countries including Egypt, Yemen, Canada, Tunisia, and Argentina, in addition to its continuing operations in the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.

Headquartered in Sharjah in the UAE, Crescent Petroleum has international offices in the UK and three locations across Iraq, as well as affiliated offices in Egypt and Bahrain. Crescent Petroleum is also the largest shareholder in Dana Gas, the Middle East’s first and largest regional private-sector natural gas company. www.crescentpetroleum.com

Contact: Hassan M. Fattah +971-06-507-0226 communications@crescent.ae

About Edraak

Established in 2014, Edraak is a leading social education initiative aiming to bring top-quality education, skills development and career readiness for youth, refugees, aspiring professionals, job seekers and students. Edraak is a pioneer in the online and blended field of cutting-edge education and offers content freely and in Arabic language, removing key financial, linguistic and education barriers. With over 7 million learners in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2023 and over 500,000 average weekly users on our proprietary online platform, Edraak, is unparalleled in impactful learning and development, delivered at scale across borders.

Contact: David Lazaro,  DLazaro@qrf.org