Abu Dhabi, UAE, 19 September 2011: Royal Philips Electronics is launching the ‘Philips Internship Programme’ in the Middle East to develop the skills of young job-seekers and prepare them for the professional yet competitive working market.
Philips, the global leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, will roll out the new internship programme at NAJAH education, training and careers fair next month, where it will recruit ten interns as well as seek a further 30 candidates to place in full-time positions across their Middle East offices. The company will also be simultaneously launching the Philips career website for the region at NAJAH.
Taking place from 18-20 October at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, NAJAH’s run is timed perfectly for the thousands of recent university graduates seeking employment. A recent study by Booz & Company has shown that a primary concern among today’s youth as they enter the job market is their lack of professional work experience – an issue that Philips’ internship programme is specifically designed to address.
“Philips’ internships are developed to give students and graduates an opportunity to gain qualified work experience in our healthcare, lifestyle and lighting business, prior to their entry into the professional marketplace”, said Harjit Gill, Chairman of Philips Middle East.
“The ‘Philips Internship Programme’ offers excellent opportunities and exposes graduates to international experiences and foreign assignments within our different offices around the region, and possible employment opportunities upon the completion of their internship period”.
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The new ‘Philips Internship Programme’ varies in length, ranging from three months to one year, taking in 40 interns per year across the Middle East. The first batch of interns began in August 2011 and the second intake, which the company hopes to fulfil at NAJAH, will begin in January 2012.
“Philips’ objective at NAJAH is to identify young talented individuals, who are keen to develop their careers within multinational organisations, and are ready to be coached and trained to fill future positions within Philips,” added Gill.
“Interns will be placed primarily in the marketing and finance functions across all our three businesses. We will also offer administration and project-based internships as and when the need arises”.
Alongside Philips, a number of companies from a broad range of industries will be at NAJAH to seek graduates including the Presidential Guard, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), Mubadala, Schlumberger, Etihad, ABB Industries and many more.
“Graduates looking for career opportunities in their desired field, whether in oil and gas, engineering, media and communications, aviation, healthcare, or financial services will have the ideal platform with which to explore their future,” said Khurram Saeed, Exhibition Director for NAJAH.
Now in its fifth year, NAJAH is sponsored by ADNOC, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), Alhosn University, Ajman University and Zayed University. Official supporters include the UAE Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research, the Abu Dhabi Education Council, the Emirates Nationals Development Programme, AIESEC, Dubai International Academic City, and Tanmia.
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More than 17,000 visitors attended NAJAH in 2010, representing an increase of 64 per cent from the previous year. Of these visitors 80 per cent were UAE Nationals, the vast majority either school-leavers or recent graduates who came to explore future opportunities in education and career advancement from more than 120 universities, training institutions, and employing organisations.
NAJAH returns with the popular psychometric assessment centre, along with the advice clinic where visitors receive one-on-one counselling on education and careers options by qualified career counsellors.
A new addition for 2011 are the dedicated career workshops, where industry professionals will address visitors with information and inspiration to help them make better decisions on their education or career path.
NAJAH is free to attend and runs from 18 to 20 October, open from 10:00am to 7:00pm at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Up to date information on the exhibition can be found at www.facebook.com/NAJAHonline or www.najahonline.com.
Caption: Philips Electronics will be launching their Middle East Internship Programme at NAJAH next month