According to the “Coursera Global Skills” report for the year 2021. The UAE ranked second globally for business skills after Luxembourg, while it ranks first in the Middle East and North Africa.
“In recent years, the government of UAE has applied several initiatives set the target on promoting an economy based on skills. Our ranking position the UAE business leadership,” said Anthony Tattersall, Coursera vice president of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, as evidence of these are having a positive effect on the economy.
Coursera was founded in 2012 by Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, two professors of computer science at Standard University. The company offers online courses through a partnership with over 200 universities and industry players.
The company had 82 million registered learners as of March 31, when it raised $519 million through a starting public providing of its stakes on the New York Stock Exchange. It’s recently valued at around $5.9bn.
In the UAE, Coursera offers services to the Abu Dhabi School of Government, where it enrolled 43,000 employees in 187,230 courses and developed a science academy data with the Department of Government Support of Abu Dhabi.
The overall vocational skills proficiency of the UAE tops the list worldwide. As per the report, for data science skills and technology, the talent ranking pool of the country is 72nd and 71st worldwide respectively.
The UAE government’s priority to digital transformation as a driver of national growth and economic advancement meaning there is “an important opportunity to upskill” in this sector, Coursera stated.
“When it comes to data science skills and technology, accessibility to various job-relevant credentials, comprising pathways to entry-level digital jobs, would be important to help re-skilling at scale, not only in the UAE but around the world,” said Mr. Tattersall.
The numerous women enrolled in technology, science, mathematics, and engineering courses in the UAE is increasing. The company said the participation of women in these courses increased to 41% in 2019-20, from 33% in 2018-19.
In the wider Mena sector, Coursera has 4.2 million learners, with an average age of around 30. Tunisia was the market where candidates have the greatest technology skills (26th worldwide) and Israel has the most skilled data scientists (27th worldwide).
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