Launching the second edition of “Jahiz” Platform enhanced with AI technologies and specialized skills

The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) launched the second edition of “Jahiz” Platform, the largest and most comprehensive national initiative for future skills in the UAE, within the activities of the “Government Talent Readiness for the Future” Forum, participated by general managers, leaders and government employees from 48 federal and local government entities and in the presence of 18 from the strategic partners of the initiative.

The second edition of “Jahiz” Platform represents an important government station to enhance the readiness of entities and their staff for the future, as it provides interactive digital experiments specifically designed to meet the needs of government entities and the aspirations of employees.

The Platform relies on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to provide personalized educational content compatible with the path of each employee. It involves a wide range of future skills such as AI, sustainability, project management, and acceleration of achievement, in addition to specialized skills in the fields of human resources and cybersecurity.

In this edition, “Jahiz” Platform will also allow government entities to add any new skills or priority national trends and the ability to communicate them to all government employees easily and quickly, ensuring that they keep up with the latest developments efficiently. To achieve this, “Jahiz” expanded its network of strategic partners to include local and international experts in order to ensure providing practical, innovative and renewable educational content. Efforts are being made currently to develop “Jahiz” Smart App for mobile devices, with the aim of enhancing employees’ experience and supporting their ability to develop skills at any time and from anywhere.

During the Forum, 39 winners in the “Future Readiness Race,” among the most interactive and participating employees in developing future skills on the “Jahiz” Platform, were honored. This comes in recognition of their distinguished achievements in the quick acquirement and development of future skills. Also, 6 federal government entities were honored for winning the first places in the race, where the employees of those entities achieved the highest percentages of achievement in acquiring future-readiness skills at the level of federal entities, which included (the Federal Tax Authority and the Ministry of Culture for winning in the Skill for Accelerating Achievement Category; the General Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology for winning in New Economy Skill Category; and Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and Ministry of Finance for winning in Data and Artificial Intelligence Skills Category).

Vision of the wise Leadership

On this occasion, Her Excellency Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future and President of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, confirmed that the essence of the “Jahiz” initiative is investing in humans and providing them with skills in order to enable humans to contribute to achievement of national priorities effectively, in a way that translates the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “may God protect him,” to adopt continuous learning and acquire new skills that open up new horizons of progress for the UAE, and the directives of his brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, “may God protect him,” to adopt the “Jahiz” initiative as a comprehensive national development project for enhancing the readiness of the government and its staff for the future, noting that “investing in our staff is the best and most profitable investment in our future”.

Ambitious Achievements

Her Excellency Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi added: “Jahiz” has achieved more than one million hours of enhancing future skills, accomplished by more than 53,000 users on the Platform, who have obtained more than 800,000 training badges, thereby establishing strong foundations for the future of the initiative, and plans for its development and expansion. Our vision for the future of the Platform is that “It will become the first and leading station for acquiring future skills in the UAE”.

Strategic Expansion

Her Excellency Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi appreciated the role of the strategic partners of the “Jahiz” initiative and their considerable support and work on providing the Platform with a content compatible with the vision and objectives of the initiative.  She added: “In the next phase, we will work on expanding our network of strategic partners and advancing cooperation with government entities to provide a content compatible with the government priorities and needs of the entities and employees”.

She called on the initiative team, partners, government entities and employees to continue the journey of developing skills and strengthening the positive and effective partnership so as to create and empower a new generation of government talents, ready for the future from now.

Pioneering Model

Her Excellency Laila Obaid Al Suwaidi, Director General of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, said that the “Jahiz” initiative is considered a pioneering government model for mega transformational projects at the level of the state, aiming to enhance the skills of government employees and invest in their capabilities. She pointed out that, thanks to the directives of the wise leadership, “Jahiz” has achieved qualitative accomplishments and tangible results, by empowering government employees and leaders with future skills, within a short period of time.

Interaction and Honor

Mrs. Al Suwaidi added: “Thanks to the directives of our wise leadership, “Jahiz” Platform has made great strides and achieved qualitative accomplishments, as it provides future skills to employees of 54 ministries and federal and local government entities in the UAE. The Platform has received wide interaction, by crowning the leaders in the future readiness race and honoring the most interactive government talents”.

To date, “Jahiz” Platform has contributed to refining the skills of more than 53,000 government employees, who have obtained more than 4 million certificates and completed more than one million training hours to develop 22 future employees’ skills and 15 government leaders’ skills, through 112 cognitive experiences and 15 masterclasses, developed according to an approach that focuses on enhancing productivity, developing the skills necessary for the future, and keeping pace with the rapid changes in the field of government work.

Cyber ​​enabled Cadres

His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Al Kuwaiti, Head of the Cyber Security Council for the UAE Government, said: “’Jahiz” Platform has achieved a paradigm shift in enhancing the cyber and digital capabilities of government cadres, and empowering them with knowledge and effective tools to contribute to protecting national digital assets and capabilities, which form the basis of the government digital system in the UAE”.

He continued to say: “We are proud to participate in supporting this qualitative initiative that translates the vision of the wise leadership, revolving around human empowerment, by enhancing the participation of government employees in consolidating digital security in the UAE, in order to ensure the sustainability of development and the sustainable growth of sectors of the future economy”.

His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Al-Kuwaiti expressed his thanks for honoring the Cyber Security Council for its efforts to participate in developing and supporting the “Jahiz” initiative.

Keeping pace with the Transformations

Mr. Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said that “Jahiz” Platform is one of the most prominent initiatives to develop future skills in the country and stimulate the competitiveness and creativity of government employees, because of its prominent role in empowering employees with knowledge in the business environment and digital technologies, which enhances their ability to keep pace with and be updated on rapid changes and learn about future trends, in order to ensure their contribution to achieving the GCAA’s goals and projects.

Mr. Al Suwaidi thanked FAHR for the honor GCAA received on the occasion of crowning its employee, Saud Abdulaziz Al Belushi, in the Future Readiness Race – the New Economy Skills Category.

Enhancement of Productivity

His Excellency Khaled Al-Bustani, Director General of the Federal Tax Authority, assured: “The “Jahiz” initiative provided a renewed knowledge resource to develop the skills of government employees, in a way that keeps pace with the latest global trends and developments, ensuring achievement of the aspirations of government entities and the ambitions of employees, towards a sustainable future and more comprehensive participation in achieving goals of the strategic national visions”.

He added: “We thank “Jahiz” initiative for honoring the Federal Tax Authority in the Readiness Race, in the x10 Skill Category, which reflects the Platform’s pivotal role in motivating our human resources, enhancing productivity, and accelerating achievement within the UAE’s tax system”.

Consolidating a culture of Sustainability

His Excellency Marwan Abdullah Al Zaabi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Regions Sector at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, reassured: “Jahiz initiative contributed to consolidating a culture of sustainability and developing green skills among national government staff, and fostered their participation in achieving the goals of the development process and green transformation efforts in the UAE. This contributes to achieving a sustainable future for today’s and tomorrow’s generations”.

His Excellency Marwan Al Zaabi added: “The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment is proud to support the “Jahiz” Platform by developing cognitive and applied content, and confirms its keenness to continue enriching the platform’s content, keeping pace with the latest global trends, and meeting the aspirations of government entities for sustainable development across all sectors”.

Advanced technology Skills

His Excellency Dr. Rashid Al Nuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MOIAT), said: “Jahiz” Platform contributes to the development of a technologically advanced government work environment that attracts the best talents, due to focusing on continuous development and upgrading of skills, which contributes to achieving proactive accomplishments and participating effectively in translating the visions of the wise leadership towards enhancing the UAE’s distinguished position, regionally and globally, in all fields, especially the advanced technology.

He added: “The staff of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology have made advanced strides in enhancing capabilities on the “Jahiz” Platform, in line with our goals to upgrade skills, in accordance with practices that exceed international standards, and consolidating a culture of innovation in the institutional work environment, by providing employees with the best cognitive and applied skills, in order to advance the government achievement and productivity system.” Dr. Al Nuaimi thanked the “Jahiz” initiative for honoring MOIAT for its staff’s victory in the New Economy Skills Category, as part of the Future Readiness Race.

An essential Approach

His Excellency Engineer Saif Ghobash Al Marri, Assistant Undersecretary for the Petroleum, Gas and Mineral Resources Sector at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOEI), reassured that “Jahiz” Platform contributed to enhancing the competitiveness of human resources in MOEI, by empowering them with the latest skills of the future, most notably data and AI skills, which compatible with the aspirations of the UAE government to develop the work of the energy, infrastructure, transportation and housing sectors, in line with the latest sustainability trends in the world”.

He added: “’Jahiz initiative has proven that acquiring knowledge is a necessary approach to improving the quality of government work and making achievements that advance the country’s sustainable development process in a human-centered manner”.  Eng. Al Marri thanked the “Jahiz” initiative for honoring MOEI in the Future Readiness Race in the Data and Artificial Intelligence Skills Category.

Culture of Competitiveness

Her Excellency Aisha Al Zaabi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector at the Ministry of Culture, said: “Jahiz initiative succeeded in consolidating a culture of competitiveness and achievement among government employees and thinking with the mentality of the impossibility. It also increased the focus on creating and anticipating the government future, by developing skills that keep pace with the strategic directions of the state and government entities. The Ministry’s leadership has been always keen on encouraging and motivating employees”.

She expressed her thanks to “Jahiz” initiative and the work team for the honor received by the Ministry of Culture, on the occasion of its staffs’ victory in the Future Readiness Race, stressing that “Jahiz” plays a pivotal role in enabling government talents to achieve the strategies of federal and local entities.

Promotion of Excellence

Fatima Yousef Al-Naqbi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector at the Ministry of Finance, assured that strengthening the capabilities of government sectors with future-ready staff is one of the main pillars in achieving the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Finance specified in its strategic plan 2023-2026. It works on achieving this plan by adopting transformational projects consistent with the aspirations and directives of the wise leadership, towards achieving the “We The UAE 2031″ vision”, which reflects the future aspirations of the UAE. She expressed her thanks and appreciation for the “Jahiz” initiative due to its role in empowering the Ministry of Finance’s staff with the skills of the future, and enhancing the process of excellence and advancement of work that depends on concentration on financial empowerment, national sustainability and resilience, anticipation of the future, innovation and artificial intelligence.

She added: “The keenness of the Ministry and its staff to improve the competitiveness of the government financial sector has resulted in the Ministry of Finance being honored, within the Future Readiness Race, in the Data and Artificial Intelligence Skills Category”.

“Jahiz” Updates

With a vision centered on developing the skills of government staff, in order to keeping up with and anticipating the latest global trends, the “Jahiz” Platform – in its second edition – provided educational experiences enhanced by artificial intelligence and new digital features to enrich the content to suit every employee. The Platform enhanced specialized content in the fields of human resources and cybersecurity protection to increase the readiness of specialized government competencies in these two fields. New units were introduced, including developed content, to empower all government employees with artificial intelligence and sustainability skills, project management and achievement acceleration. A new path was also launched for government entities to provide any new skills or trends, and accelerate their delivery to all government employees in a smooth and instant way.

In the same context, the new edition of “Jahiz” Platform launched various options for content channels, including podcasts, infographics, video, and readable texts, in order to provide an interesting and flexible educational experience, supported by interactive digital communities, that bring the employee together with peers and experts in order to enhance knowledge and skill gains through dialogues and discussions. The new improvements also included expanding connectivity to local governments in the UAE, to empower employees of these entities with future skills, based on “Jahiz” Platform. It is working currently to develop “Jahiz” Smart App for mobile devices, with the aim of enhancing employees’ experience and supporting their ability to develop skills at any time and from anywhere.

Honoring the Partners

The Forum’s activities witnessed honoring a number of the Platform’s strategic partners for their qualitative contributions, support, and contribution to enriching its content, including Cyber Security Council, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Blockchain Center, Institute of Technology Innovation, Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, Microsoft, Mindvalley, Amazon Web Services, Clear & Conquer, and Everdom.

Track Record

Since its launch in late 2022, “Jahiz” Platform won a number of awards and honors locally and internationally. In early 2024, the World Economic Forum in Davos chose “Jahiz” initiative among the best global projects in the “Building Readiness for Tomorrow” report, in light of the results and impact it has achieved, and its implementation of best leading and inspiring practical institutional practices for future readiness worldwide. “Jahiz” initiative received the “Future Workplace Awards” as the best initiative that employs modern technology and artificial intelligence techniques in education, training and development of government human resources. It also won the UAE Innovates – 2024 Award, for the category of best innovation in the use of resources, at the end of the activities of the UAE Innovation Month, which was organized by the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation. “Jahiz” was also crowned with the Gold Award in the Innovation in Education or Training Websites Category at the Stevie Awards Middle East and North Africa for the year 2024.