RIYADH — A Step Ahead Career Fair and Forum witnessed great participation during the first day with hundreds arriving at the exhibition prior to its official launch. Opening at 8:30 am with the forum a number of key topics and panel discussions were held featuring local, regional and global speakers. The event held under the patronage Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz Al- Saud who toured the exhibition and attended the opening remarks. On behalf of the Minister of Labor Adel Fakieh, Ibrahim Al-Moaiqel, Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) Director General, gave the opening speech and recognized the partners and sponsors before the panel discussions and speeches.
During his commencement speech Khalid W. AlKhudair, Founder and CEO of Glowork, the organizers of A Step Ahead Career Fair, expressed his appreciation for the role the HRDF plays in the development of job opportunities for women through partnership and collaboration with the private sector.
Saadia Zahidi, Senior Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) spoke about the topic ‘Closing the Gender Gap' showcasing the gender parity program of the WEF for enabling women to enter into the workforce. The speech cited key statistics from the WEF index and global rating. With the Nordic countries leading in closing the gender gap by 80 – 85 percent in key industries including health, education etc.
Saudi Arabia is in the top 10 relevant and absolute change in economic participation of women.
Dr. Rached Awad, Associate Director of Employability at SILATECH, discussed in the following session public private partnerships in career development. Panel sessions followed with Dr. Asma Siddiki moderating Unlock Your Hidden Abilities session with the participation of Jos Dirkx — IBM, Emily Wakelink — Catalyst, Evern Ay — Motoword, and Dr. Leila Hoteit — BCG.
The next session showcased the potenetial opportunities for women in different industries with Summer Nassief — Honeywell, Demet Ozdemir — EY, Shahad Al Tamimi Schneider Electric, and Eleni Kitra — Facebook taking part and discussing their professions roles and sharing advise on entering new field with Alex Malouf moderating the session.
In recognition of women leadership support the Women Appreciation Month award celebration followed with the participation of Eyad Mashat, Chairman of FAD International. Aiming to recognize leaders in their field WAM is the women empowerment sponsor of the A Step Ahead Career Fair.
Glowork's Abdullah Al Ghadouni presented a case study on the women's work development followed by a panel discussion inviting the panelists to visualize success giving their audience a glimpse to seeing purpose and ambition and where it would lead them to growth. Taking part in the panel were Bedour Al-Sadhan — DoJo, Soulaima Gourani —Tradeconductor.com, Maria Rankka from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, and Aisha Jaffari. The session was moderated by Fares Bugshan.
Taking the discussion from employer to employer a panel session titled Be Your Own Boss moderated by Said Baaghil showcased business leaders in their fields including: Nawaf Al Musra — Shell, Joelle Yazbeck, Eyad Mashat — Femi9 and Osama Natto — IT.
Career advise in the form of the last two sessions with the topic Everything You Need to Know When You Start Working took the audience on a trip of as an employee — a team member and her rights and obligations. Taking part in the session were Tuba Terekli — Qotuf, Nujoud Al Hajjar — SABB, Sheikha Al Sudairi — Al- Nahda and Shahad Al Azzaz — Rafael de Lajous with Kareem Soufi moderating the session.
Unable to attend in person, Kate Cole President and CEO of Cinnabon, shared in a video message her business journey from entry level position as a waitress to becoming group president, taking the forum to its final panel session Your Journey Starts Now. Moderator Rakan Aleidi led the discussion with panelists including Candice Olsen — Fullbridge Program, Abdullah Al Fozan — KPMG, Hana AlMedaini — SABB and Samira AlHarbi — Schneider Electric. – SG
