Youths put skills ahead of money

Emirati youths entering the fob market prioritise skills over salaries of about 50 students In a live voting session, 30 per cent of participants said the opportunity for growth and promotion was the most important factor when considering a job offer; 20 per cent said learning new skills was the top factor; while 18 per cent said work environment and culture was the main factor. Only 10 per cent said they would consider salary first. A mere 2 per cent said working hours were the most important criterion. INJAZ UAE is an organization that aims to build bridges between schools and colleges and the private sector private companies can’t hire Emiratis because they can't give them the salaries and working hours they demand. Hopefully this will prove them wrong. Students believed working in the private sector would present more demands than working for the government. Asked whether working for the private sector would throw up challenges, 81 per cent said yes and 13 per cent said no. Responding to the same question about the government, 40 per cent said yes and 31 per cent said no. The main concern about working in the private sector was competition for promotion and recognition; in the government, it was dealing with routine. However Job fairs, career guidance and workshops with corporate guests are ways that universities can help create new perceptions about working in the private sector. To do its bit, the business world can offer internships and trainee programmes to young graduates. 30 per cent of the university students and fresh graduates polled place most importance on growth and promotion opportunities when selecting a job. Nearly 70 per cent of participants at the forum said that getting a job is their most immediate priority after graduation, over further education or entrepreneurship opportunities. When choosing between public and private sector positions, the deciding factors for Emirati youth tend to be growth and promotion opportunities, work environment and skill development.

Cash loan boost for hydroponics farmers

"This technology uses 80 per cent less water, less pesticides and less fertiliser than traditional farming," said Yousri Kabil, an engineer at the protected agriculture unit of the Farmers Services Centre, an Abu Dhabi government body that aims to modernise the emirate's farms. Farmers in Al Gharbia have slowly been converting to hydroponics - which allows them to grow fruit and vegetables using less water and energy and are now being offered loans to help them make the switch. Yafour Al Hameli shows some of the tomatoes he is growing on his farm using his new hydroponics system. The centre plans to install the system in farms in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain before the end of the year to produce leafy vegetables and forage crops. Farmers are keen on it and we want to encourage hydroponics on all Abu Dhabi farms, to be able to produce food all year round. For the past year and a half, Mr Al Hameli has been growing almost 30 tonnes of tomatoes and peppers a year in soil in his six greenhouses. The Khalifa Fund is a government organisation that helps develop Abu Dhabi businesses. Two Emirati farmers in the Western Region are setting up closed hydroponics farms which will save up to 60 to 80 per cent of water used for irrigation, compared to conventional agriculture. Since the hydroponics system does not involve soil, it involves a wide variety of growing media, such as perlite, gravel, peat, sand, rock wool and others. ADFSC is supporting the demonstration of hydroponics farms of two Emirati farmers in the Western Region, who grow vegetables such as tomatoes, capsicum and cucumber throughout the year, including summer. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water, without soil.

How do Gulf Corals beat the heat?

Corals have managed to beat the heat by acclimatization to hot water. The coral live in sybiosis with zoooxanthellae, a type of agae that lives inside the coral and gives it energy, and in return, the coral provides shelter, nutrients mostly nitrogen and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. If one dies the other is unable to feed itself to stay alive. At temperatures above 35C, the algae's photosynthesis produces oxygen radicals that damage the coral tissue. To protect itself, the coral spits out the zooxanthellae. it can live off its fat reserves for a week, after that it needs to take the algae back in or it will die. A case of bleaching was seen in 1998, when the El Niño subjected 80 % of the world's coral reefs to extreme temperatures. Gulf's corals seem to be coping. It may be something to do with an unusual complement of protective mechanisms. Corals reproduce in one of two ways: through fragmentation or larval production. When a piece of coral breaks off, rolls across the sand, lands somewhere else and starts growing this is fragmentation Larval production happen, in massive spawning events, when countless billions of tiny, 1mm-long larval bulbs are released float around the sea for up to a week.