The Arab American University and Arab Bank concluded the intensive training program “Smart Youth” as part of the University’s pursuit to provide students with the skills and experience necessary to successfully integrate into the banking and financial services sector. This program was presented to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Financial Engineering and Digital Marketing, where twenty-one male and female students benefited from it.
Professor Dr. Mohammad Asia, Vice President for Ramallah Campus, stressed the importance of this program in terms of providing practical training opportunities for students, which contributes to developing their skills and increasing their chances of obtaining future value-added jobs in the labor market. He added: “Through the academic programs that we offer to students, we are keen to provide them with a supportive environment by increasing their involvement in institutions and companies. Moreover, we always seek to strengthen our cooperation with institutions within integrative relationships between education and society for the good of our students. We are proud today of the fruit of this joint effort with one of the most important pillars of the Palestinian economy.”
In turn, Ms. Salam Al Aqad, Director of Human Resources at the Arab Bank - Palestine, stated: “We are committed to empowering young people and providing training opportunities that contribute to developing their scientific skills in the banking and financial services sector within the “Smart Youth” program that the bank offers to university students. This program also contributes to refining students’ skills and practical experience as well as qualifying them for the labor market.” Al Aqad added: “This activity is considered a fruitful cooperation between the Arab Bank and the Arab American University to provide a distinctive training experience for students and develop their skills effectively as well as contribute to providing qualified professional competencies for the labor market in the future.”
The “Smart Shabab” program is one of the training programs offered by the Arab Bank to university students. It includes intensive practical training, through which students learn a variety of practical and applied skills including products and services of the large, small and medium companies sector, and products and services of individual banking sector, focusing on the digital transformation culture. The program also provides students with the opportunity to learn and practically apply CV writing and conducting interviews techniques, in addition to developing presentation and promotion skills. Furthermore, students learn about electronic banking services, including branch self-service and digital services that the bank provides to its customers around the clock, self-managed by the client.
The students underwent practical training experience in the branches, and it was their responsibility to market the bank’s self-services to its clients in the second phase of the program. This provided the students with an excellent opportunity to apply the concepts they had acquired in a realistic work environment and improve their practical skills.
At the end of the program, the participating students expressed their gratitude for the efforts made by the Arab American University and Arab Bank in providing this training opportunity. They stressed that it will have a significant positive impact on their professional track and the development of their practical skills.