Dubai, UAE, 03 January 2018:  The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) hosted a highly constructive Youth Circle entitled ‘Youth & Sustainability in Aviation’ in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Emirates Engineering in one of Emirates’ maintenance hangars at Dubai International Airport. The Circle was attended by around 70 young people from the UAE representing a range of technical and managerial backgrounds in the aviation sector. The aim of the gathering was to discuss issues that young Emiratis face in building sustainable careers the aviation sector and propose potential solutions for the issues raised. 

The group discussed a number of topics relating to sustainable career development, as well as the future of the aviation sector in the UAE more widely. Specifically discussed were a number of initiatives to more closely align education with potential careers in aviation and programs to encourage Emirati youth to take up more technical and non-technical sector jobs;. the main outcomes from the discussion was to stablish ‘Youth Aviation Council’ which was proposed by GCAA and to include a course about civil aviation in national service program

The Aviation Youth Circle was attended by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group, H.E. Shamma Al Mazroui, Minister of Youth and H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA.
H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group said:“ It is vital that we encourage more young Emiratis to have flourishing careers in the Aviation sector in the UAE. It is a crucial part of our economy making up around 15% of our Nation’s GDP. Whilst we have made remarkable strides in the last few decades, we must secure its future and make sure this continues by attracting more young people to the sector.”    

H.E. Shamma Al Mazroui, Minister of Youth said: “Young people are our future, so by listening to the youth of today and empowering them, we are building a platform for achieving excellence in the future. Youth Circles provide an important forum for our youth to communicate in an open and honest way with our companies and our leaders.” 

H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA, said: “The Youth Circle has been a highly constructive gathering and I am very excited by the talent, passion and ability of our young people. To build a sustainable future for the aviation sector in the UAE we need to continue to invest in a number of key areas. One of the most important of these areas is educating and engaging our young people so that they have the means, skills and expertise to build flourishing careers.” 

Many issues related to youth in civil aviation, were discussed during the circle such as pivotal challenges that lead to the lack of youth enrollment in Aviation related majors and Ideal methodology that will enable us to keep up with the educational processes with the needs and demands of the aviation sector. Additionally to the ways to elevate the efficiency of aviation major graduates, to qualify them for fieldwork.

During the Circle a number of the UAE’s brightest youth were honored for their contributions to the aviation sector so that they could serve as an example and inspiration for young people across the Nation. Also contributing to the success of the event were attendees from Etihad Airlines, Emirates, FlyDubai, Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, Dubai Civil Aviation, RAK Civil Aviation, airport security - Dubai police, Abu Dhabi airports, Strata, and a number of higher technology Colleges from across the UAE. 

The Youth Circles initiative governed by Emirates Youth Council and Launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, is designed to inspire youth-centric dialogue across a variety of areas for sustainable engagement with young people and to shape innovative solutions for global challenges. The Circles represent different genders, fields and age groups participate in a dialogue; each participant has equal opportunity to express and share opinion to shape a solution or a policy.