The Career Development Center at the University of Zakho (UOZ-CDC) in collaboration with the University faculties organized a two-day workshop entitled (Education to Employment, the challenges of education preparing youth for the labor market and designing a system that works) on July 24th and 25th at the Faculty of Science in Zakho University. The vision of the workshop was to provide and equip our students and alumnus with the necessary skills that will qualify them to work in the private sector. Moreover, it aimed at creating a link between educational sectors such as university and private sectors. The event started with a short speech by Prof. Dr. Abdulhameed Sulaiman, vice president of the University of Zakho and Dr. Maqsood Saadi Mohammed, director of relations at the Ministry of High Education who was accompanied by Mr. Karwan Ahmed Hussein from the directorate of relations at the ministry.

The workshop was the result of a mini-grant given to the Career and Development Center of the University of Zakho by IREX, a US-based nonprofit organization committed to international education in academic research, professional training and technical assistance, in collaboration with the US embassy in Baghdad. It is worth noting that this was the UOZ CDC’s second project that was funded and sponsored by IREX the first of which was in late 2015 and this one.

The workshop was organized and managed by Miss. Edi S. Kachal, director of Career and Development Center, Mr. Sabah Sulaiman Haji, from the Department of English, and Mr. Dlovan Ameen Salman, from the College of Administration and Economics).

Around sixty people attended the workshop of which thirty five were University of Zakho students and alumni and the rest were representatives of both public and private sector companies. From the private sector, seven companies, namely Rast Group, International Organization for Migration (IOM) , New Zakho , Nawroz Group, Venus Electric Group, Ehsaan Company, and Younis Group attended the workshop. And from the public sector, a representative of each of the General Hospital of Zakho and the Ministry of Municipality and Tourism attended the event.

The event provided an excellent learning opportunity for private sectors, as well as a venue for the exchange of ideas among a highly interdisciplinary group of both industry and the best students and alumni of University of Zakho.

On the first day of the workshop an introduction to CDC and the workshop was given by Edi S. Kachal, director of Career and Development Center at the University of Zakho. This was followed by a presentation about “Employment Agencies: Local & International” by Mr. Ari Sulayman Yassin from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). After that, all participants were given a short (15 minutes) tea break during which they delighted themselves to biscuits of various types with tea and coffee. The next activity was an interesting panel discussion about the phenomenon of unemployment and the challenges of preparing the youth to compete in the labour market in Kurdistan. Sitting on one side of the panel were four students and alumni, and on the other side were two managers from Zakho University, one public sector and one private sector representative. The discussion was chaired by Edi S. Kachal who asked both sides of the panel a number of questions about unemployment in Kurdistan. This was followed by a lunch break. After lunch break, the audience were given opportunity to ask questions and give remarks and suggestions about the various topics discussed during the workshop. This was the closing of the first day of the workshop activities.

On the second day and after the welcoming remarks, the workshop started with a presentation about “Developing Students’ Soft Skills for the Workplace” by Mr. Sabah Sulaiman Haji. In it, the presenter gave an overview of the top skills required by employers in Kurdistan and highlighted the key areas and ways through which both university and students can develop soft skills for a greater chance of getting hired in Kurdistan. Following this was a presentation by Mr. Ivan H. Murad about “Problem Solving skills”. The presenter stressed the importance of having effective problem solving skills for students when they apply for jobs and implementing these skills in the workplace. After that, there was a tea break like the first day. Following the tea break was a presentation by Dr. Range about “Team-working and Decision Making”. The presenter highlighted the difference between team work and collective work as well as the process of making decisions and the necessary knowledge of doing so. Next, Mr. Dlovan Ameen Salman presented “The Private Sectors Should Shape the University Research Especially in the Area of Human Capacity Development”. Then everybody went downstairs for lunch. After that, Mr. Hozan G. Othman gave a presentation about “Improving English Language Communication Skills for the Workplace” in which he drew the audiences’ attention to the importance of having good communication skills in general and knowledge of the art of dealing with co-workers in the workplace in particular.

At the end participants were each awarded a certificate of participation and presenters were awarded a certificate of achievement. Also, each participating company was awarded a certificate of attendance and a letter of appreciation by Asst. Prof. Dr. Abdulhameed Sulaiman, vice president for administration and financial affairs at the University of Zakho on behalf of the university president.

The objectives of this workshop can be summarized into the following:
1- It will help the participants, especially students and alumni, to improve their job seeking and employability Skills
2- It will also serve as an opportunity for students and alumni to gather and discuss important employment-related matters with employers face-to-face.
3. It also paves the way to creating a link between the industry and the university, which in the long run, will bring about higher employment rates among graduates of Zakho University in the job market in Kurdistan.

As organizers of the workshop and CDC staff we would like to sincerely thank IREX for generously sponsoring this project. We should not forget to thank all the participating private and public sector company representatives for their invaluable attendance and their readiness to cooperate with CDC for similar future activities. We would also like to thank University of Zakho presidency for their cooperation and support in making this workshop successful. Also, special thanks go to at the Ministry of High Education and all the presenters, panelists, alumni and students for their fruitful contribution to the workshop activities.