Aligned with the government’s vision of Emiratisation, The UAE Global Management Challenge is encouraging young Emiratis to experience life in the private sector.
The world’s largest strategy and management competition kicks off for the first time in the UAE in September and offers students and professionals the opportunity to manage a private company.
Emiratis currently occupy only 43,000 of the 2.2 million jobs in the private sector, while the public sector employs 495,000 Emiratis.
In an effort to encourage Emirati students and professionals to experience the decision making process in private organisations, the competition challenges young entrepreneurs to take over the reins of a virtual company. Emiratis who enter the competition will have the chance to experience how the management of a private company operates, while gaining insight and expertise into management, so they can make a better career choice.
“The competition is the largest international event based on a business simulation, with more than 30 countries taking part in the contest,” said Mian Muneer ud din managing partner of Beaufort Associates, a consulting and advisory services firm bringing Global Management Challenge to the UAE.
“Through it we want to improve and enhance the capabilities of participating Emirati students. They gain firsthand experience of how decision making is carried out in private companies, based on analysis, review and collaborative team effort. The competition is a representation of the business environment in the UAE and young Emiratis taking part can make a choice of whether they want to enter the private sector,” he added.
The contest consists of a management simulation in which teams of 3-5 members, comprising of university students and corporates, are given complete control of a virtual company with the objective of obtaining the highest share price on a simulated stock exchange. Competitors analyze financial and economic indicators, expand their views on corporate strategy, interact with functional areas of a company and gain an in-depth understanding of the market conditions in which their companies compete.
“Not only will this competition contribute to developing the next generation of business leaders but it will also increase job opportunities for Emiratis in the UAE,” added Muneer.
The initiative officially launched in September this year, comprises a programme with the aim of determining a winning team across the UAE. The winning team will then compete with national winners of several countries in the global competition for the world title, held in Sochi, Russia in April 2014.
