Nabil Najd

Director MENA Region

THE FUTURE OF STUDENT

RECRUITMENT IN THE MENA REGION –

UPDATES ON SAUDI ARABIA AND

OMAN

The ICEF Berlin Workshop

Berlin, Germany04 – 06 November, 2018

Session Speakers

2

Nabil Najd – Director MENA Region, ICEF Company, Lebanon

Haitam Giat– Founder & CEO of Yes Atlas, Saudi Arabia

Josie Al-Humaidi Ready- Assistant Director Manager of Weejhat

Academics – Wego UK, Oman

MENA Region – Facts

3

General information

Offical Name: Middle East and North Africa

Number of countries: 22

Language: Mainly Arabic, Iranian

Governmenet Type: Monarchy mostly, very few democratically voted governments

Population: 523 million

Economy: Oil and gas and natural resources

Population Size & Growth in the

MENA Region

54

MENA Market

5

The MENA region will continue to post double-digit average growth of around

5% annually in the next five years.

Institutions must be patient.

The Middle East does not have a longstanding capitalist culture.

Business set-up time can be a longer than would be expected in the West.

MENA region is generously endowed with lavish natural resources and a

young population with 70% under the age of 30.

The region offers educational opportunities.

Education system in the MENA Region

5

● Achievements● Deficiencies ● Challenges

6

The Education System of MENA (Deficiencies)

7

● Students finish schools lacking appropriate foreign language profeciency

● Most schools have 12 years of education, so certain universities will

require the students to do a foundation year

● Students lose a minimum of two years before joining a university

The Education System of MENA - Achievements

8

● MENA has taken great strides in education

● Achievement of almost complete gender parity for primary education

● Enrolment in the region’s school systems has increased significantly over the past decade

● Achievement of the universal primary education for girls and boys in most of the MENA

countries

● Literacy rates for the adult population (defined as 15+ years) have increased from 59% in

1990 to 78% in 2010

● Government Financing Commitment: The average public investment in education across

the region as a percentage of GDP is above 5.3% of GDP

www.icef.com

Source: World Bank, 2013

http://www.worldbank.org/en/region/mena/brief/education-in-mena

Educational quality

Low educational quality of school

systems in MENA

Basic skills are not being learnt

Skills Mismatch

Pervasive mismatch between the

skills required by the job market and

those taught in schools

More firms in MENA contend that

inadequate labor force skills, both

technical and soft , impede their

growth and ability to hire employees

The Education System of MENA - Challenges

9

13

Middle Eastern Students AbroadBased on UNESCO data 2012

10

13

Middle Eastern Students AbroadBased on UNESCO data 2012

11

13

Global Flow of Tertiary-level MENA

Students

Source: UNESCO Data , 2018http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow

12

SPECIALISATION – PROGRAMS OF INTEREST

13

Business33%

Engineering/ Architecture/ Aviation

20%

Medicine/ Dentistry13%

English9%

Health Science/Medical Sciences

6%

Computer science/IT

6%

Arts/Humanities/Education5%

Design/ Other trades

3%

Law/ International Relations

2%

Media & Mass Communication2% Science

1%

• Going abroad is a tradition

• The Ministry of Higher Education provided lists of the recommended higher education institutions.

• Students wishing to complete their higher education must obtain the approval of the ministry before the enrollment through online

request of the program study

• MENA Students also believe that studying abroad will give them:

o A greater chance at career success

o Gain better knowledge / skills than at home

o Get a good job in chosen field

o Can earn more money

o Improve English-language skills

o Get expected academic marks / results

o Can live in study destination permanently

Trends & Tendencies of MENA Students

14

SAUDI MARKET

2

Haitam Giat – Founder & CEO

The following points will be covered:

•Background: Geopolitical, Size of

Market, Education System

•Current Status of the Study Abroad

Market in KSA

•Future Potential & Trends

Yesatlas.com Founder, CEO 2009

Haitam Giat

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

• Capital: Riyadh

• Population: 33.5M (including 10M Foreigners)

• 37% under age 14, 51% under age 25

• Language: Arabic, Business Language: English

• Currency: USD 1 = SAR 3.75 (fixed rate)

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Education System

• Secondary: Governmental and International Private schools

• Vocational: 150 training center

• Tertiary Education: 24 Gov. Universities

The Education System

The market in the KSA

1. Higher Education Market

• Governmental Bodies and Sponsorship

• Self-Funded Students

• Saudi and Non-Saudi

2. English Language Market

• Governmental Bodies and Sponsorship

• Self-Funded Students

• Saudi and Non-Saudi

3. Professional Training courses

(growing market)

The market in the KSA

Higher Education

1. Top destinations (Saudi and non-Saudi)

2. Majors on demand (Saudi and non-Saudi)

3. Recent changes in the scholarship programs

• Top Ranked Universities

• Selected Destinations

• Direct Entry

• Selected Majors

Higher Education

1. Top destinations

2. General short courses and Academic courses

3. Size of the business

4. Peak time, Average booking, Accommodation etc.

English Language Market

Focus on Sponsoring Bodies “Agreements”

or

Focus on Self-Funded Students

“My personal story”

“My personal story”

Why Saudi Students use agents?

1. Culture: (Drivers, Maids and AGENTS)

2. Need support with English communication

3. Lack of Information and experience

4. Visa applications can be complicated

5. Feel more safe when it comes to Int. fees payment

6. Increasing the chance of enrolment

Why Saudi Students use agents?

How to get more business from agents in Saudi ArabiaHow to get more business from agents in

Saudi Arabia

More Business with Agents

Build Personal Relationships with Counselors

– Gifts

– Souvenirs

More Business with Agents

All we Need is Love

• Social Business Actually Works

(Study Group & Yes Atlas)

More Business with Agents

1. Fast response (Speed)2. Accurate Information Email/Online/Call (Avoid losing trust)3. Name of the School (Brand)4. School Visits5. Bonus/Direct Incentives to Counselor6. Being Open for New Suggestion & Willing to Change

Procedures 7. Tuition Fees 8. FAM trips9. Location10. Admission Requirements

When we ask our counselors, what is important for them when they work with educators

OMANI MARKET

2

Josie Al-Humaidi Ready – Assistant

Director Manager

The following points will be covered:

•Background: Geopolitical, Size of

Market, Education System

•Current Status of the Study Abroad

Market in KSA

•Future Potential & Trends

Oman (The sultanate of Oman)

A few key facts:

1.Population 3.1 million people 56% Omani 44%

Expatriate

2.The Official religion is Islam

3.Oman is influenced by the Uk in infrastructure

4.The capital city of Muscat is the the main

business district of the country

5.Sultan Qaboos has been the leader of the

country and an absolute monarchy since the

1970’s

6.Oman is categorized as a high income

economy and ranks as the 70th most peaceful

country in the world according to the Global

peace index

The Education sector in Oman has expanded rapidly from only three schools in 1970 to over 1,647 schools today.

At present, the ministry of higher education (MOHE) recommends and publishes to Omani students a certified list of HE institutions abroad in the annual magazine, ‘Your decision, your future magazine’.

The current top destinations for Omani students studying abroad are:

UK, Ireland, Canada, America, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.

The length of time an Omani student spends studying abroad ranges from 1 month - short courses up to full degree and masters programs.

Students expect to bring the level of their education up to meet industry, school or university standards. Students are also recognizing the benefit in terms of gaining a quality hallmark from a recognizable and reputable institution.

The current market:

Within the Omani study abroad market, our agency Weejhat Academics are noticing many gaps yet to be filled and that there are many students wishing to pursue summer study programs /English for specific purpose courses but more specifically in higher education degrees and scholarship programs.

Student study destination preferences based on last year (2017)

55%

41%

Students stayed relatively close to home,with study destinations in neighboringGulf states or elsewhere in Middle East.

Students crossed the land border to UAEto pursue their studies there. Some gofurther afield to institutions in the US orUK, with the balance widely dispersedamong the European and Asiandestinations.

Statistical information sourced from the Ghedex(Global Higher Education Exhibition websiteOctober 2018).

Student course preferences;Engineering, Science, Technology, health, management, social sciences, education and arts. English language, foundation programs and IELTS courses are also key choices for Omani students.

As of last year (2017) there were nearly 15,000 Omani students enrolled overseas.

Due to the need for industries in Oman to fill a certain quota of Omani nationals in the workplace, Weejhat academics is seeing an increase and trend in the number of Omani nationals being sent abroad for work related training. Work related training programs range from engineering, medical, English language for military, police force, teacher training and many more.

The Omani government’s objectives in a post – oil economy in Oman are to increase their student numbers in higher education. The private higher education market will likely continue to grow in Oman over the coming years.

Thank you for listening

We welcome your questions!