Birzeit University and Sharek Youth Forum unwrap the seventh stage of the “A Step Forward” program for students specializing in management, accounting, and financial and banking sciences

Ramallah- Sharek Youth Forum- April 6, 2008: Sharek Youth Forum opened in partnership with the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Bir Zeit, yesterday, the seventh round of the “A Step Forward” program in its headquarters in Ramallah. Seventy students specializing in the fields of accounting, management science, finance and banking were active participants. They were distributed into three groups, 36 meetings took place including 12 for each specialization, as well as field visits to companies and institutions, training and theoretical workshops.
Niveen Kadadha, the project coordinator, assured that the "A Step Forward" program aims to build capacity among the younger groups to facilitate their entry into the labor market, which imposes enormous challenges and obstacles, and seeks to contribute to reduce high unemployment rates among young people in Palestine and build the capacity of young people to enable them to participate actively in the labor force through training groups of graduate students in their respective areas of specialization.
She noted that the program is designed and specifically tailored to the needs of Palestinian college and university students that are on the verge or graduating. It aims to train students in different areas of interrelated skills, personal and practical. The training focuses on the acquisition of qualities and attributes –developmental oriented and psychologically sound - social, such as strengthening self-confidence, improving practical skills with a focus on the specialized fields studied by each of the students involved, getting a job and providing a steady income, and the ability to participate in programs that contribute to the development of society.
In turn, the Executive Director of the Forum, Bader Zamareh, said that the vocational and career guidance seeks to raise awareness on the sensitive issues between vocational students bordering graduation by improving their personal and practical skills, in terms of their specialized fields, through a number of workshops and training seminars on various subjects, including biographical writing skills, preparation for employment interviews, and confidence-building.
He said that part of the program focuses on the different circumstances, challenges and job opportunities that the students face, through workshops organized for students, which focus on the dynamic interaction and dialogue between the facilitators and participants.
Zamareh also said that the area would be open to creative thinking and debate, which is a critical element in the development of young people. Additionally, the program is working in collaboration with professionals from non-profit institutions and companies, on building the capacities of youth and vocational training in the field through coordination of field visits to institutions and local companies that are partners in the program, to discuss practical experiences with the students and to share their knowledge. Thus, the participants are acquainted with the needs and actual requirements of the fields they are looking to work in.