Dubai’s Community Development Authority, CDA, has launched the "Khotwa" and "Erteka’a" programmes to train job seekers and empower them to compete in the job market.

The programmes form part of CDA’s Masar Initiative for Financial Empowerment, which seeks to develop the financial and economic skills of a wide segment of the public. The authority is looking to identify the needs of beneficiaries from its financial empowerment sector in order to develop their skills and abilities. The end goal is to establish an integrated system based on analyses that take into account the supply-demand dynamics in the labour market.

Yousef Mohammed bin Lahej, CDA’s Director of Financial Empowerment, said, "Launching ‘Khotwa’ and ‘Erteka’a’ reflects CDA’s commitment to promoting social responsibility and empowering the youth in the UAE to secure suitable employment. The programmes also train them to handle and improve their own finances, and adequately prepare them to enter the labour market, which includes helping them plan their career and preparing them for job interviews."

"The two programmes are a continuation of the CDA’s mission to achieve career empowerment, its relentless efforts to change financial misconceptions and misconduct, and to promote financial literacy, entrepreneurship, management and leadership, all the while securing job opportunities for the target group," Bin Lahej added.

The ‘Khotwa’ programme, launched by the Department of Financial Empowerment in collaboration with Knowledge Horizons and Profiles International, includes two sub-programmes, the first of which evaluates user needs with systematic and psychology-based assessments, in an effort to reduce incorrect economic tactics in recruitment and training activities. The second sub-programme prepares participants for the labour market and helps them plan their future careers.

The "Erteka’a" programme, organised as a collaboration between the Department of Financial Empowerment, the National Institute for Vocational Training and the Sagson Institute, seeks to develop the basic skills required in the workplace such as English-language skills and computer literacy.