MADINAT ZAYED, WESTERN REGION // Joining the mad rush of commuters on the London Underground was a far cry from his short drive to college in Al Gharbia. For Ahmad Eissa al Salahi, travelling abroad without his family for the first time, visiting the UK has been a "life-changing" experience. The business student, 25, has been living with a host family in the British capital for four weeks, to improve his English and go on work placements as part of Madinat Zayed Municipality's foreign exchange scheme.
The experience, he says, has made him better equipped to join the workforce. "I really feel more independent now," he says. "Unlike back home, there has been nobody to wake me up or look after me, telling me what to do. It's been a totally different life. "We have to get on with things ourselves, learn to communicate and use our own initiative." Mr Salahi was doing his own laundry and cleaning for the first time, and says it has taught him how to manage time. "It's a really important skill and I know it will make me a better employee," he says.
The student believes speaking English every day has been invaluable and now feels more confident in his communication skills. "I'd like to think that eventually I will be able to take on a management role in the Government and communication would be such an important thing to have learnt, both in English and in Arabic," Mr Salahi says. "Interacting with different business people has been a real eye-opener."
As part of the programme, the students visited attractions such as the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. Mr Salahi is loyal to Al Gharbia, and says he wants to "give back" to the Government, which has supported him through his studies. "They have given us such amazing opportunities and I feel really lucky," he says. "The Western Region is where I grew up ? I don't want to leave. I want to see the place develop and modernise, but I want to be a part of it. This is my home."
Mr Salahi is one of many to benefit from the Government's ambition to educate students from a young age. Two who are reaping the rewards of the Western Region Municipality's professional schemes are Faris al Mazrouhi and Abdullah al Mansoori. At just 16, Faris is one of the municipality's youngest employees. During his summer holiday from high school, he is gaining experience by working for Tamm, the centre for integrated government services.
Faris has so far worked for the police and court departments and his tasks have included car-licence renewals, traffic fines and applications for driving licences. "I've learnt the whole process of the police department since I've been here and I've really enjoyed it," he says. "People treat me as if I'm a normal employee. I have learnt so much." Faris wants to study medicine or IT at university but, in the meantime, is happy to develop his skills while earning a respectable wage during his holidays.
Although he enjoys visits to nearby Al Ain and Abu Dhabi, he will never leave Al Gharbia. "It's my home," he says. "I'm attached to my family. I'd move away to study, but that would be temporary. I'd always come back here." The work placement scheme keeps hundreds of children occupied in an otherwise long and tedious summer break. Faris says he would otherwise be at home wasting time: "There's nothing to do here during the summer."
He says Tamm taught him vital skills including dealing with people, customer relations, commitment and punctuality. Abdullah, who is halfway through his engineering degree at Al Ain University, has been working in the Abu Dhabi Finance Department offices throughout his degree. This summer he has been in the food control department, police department and office of economy and planning ? all in the Tamm centre. "It helps me for the future," he says. "Within a short time, you can learn a lot. I can learn the processes and systems of all the different departments here in one place."
In Madinat Zayed's small community, Abdullah feels that knowing everybody helps him to build his confidence and "makes things easier" than if he were doing a work placement in the capital. He enjoys the "responsibility", and is aware of the benefits of being based in the workplace. "It's good for me to see how different systems work," he says. "On a daily basis, I have to deal with all kinds of people. Happy or irritated, I have to deal with them. It's the real world."
Salem al Mazrouei, the director of the TAMM centre, says: "These initiatives show the students they will always have work here, and with the experience we give them, their prospects for the future are that much better. "These students are our future and we will be the ones to benefit from their skills ultimately, instead of losing them to the big cities." @Email:mswan@thenational.ae