POPULATION GROWTH
Bahrain's population has been steadily growing over the last few years. With the highest average rate of population change in the Gulf states, Bahrain's population has reached 1.7 million today, and is projected to be over 2 million by 2025. Critically, Bahrain’s populace is overwhelmingly young with those under the age of 25 representing 35% of the total population.
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In 2018, there were 5,686 Bahraini students in foreign education
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There are 37 government secondary schools, with 33,000 students enrolled
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Locally, there are 10,309 students enrolled in private education
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60% of enrolled students, in 2014, are in humanities and business
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60% of unemployed, in 2014, have bachelor degrees
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Quality of students is not up to employer expectations
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'The country requires graduates with skills not just qualifications.'
Conclusion:
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‘the higher education sector needs to align itself with national priorities and take onboard the significance of entrepreneurship and value creation to the Kingdom of Bahrain.’
The Career Coach is established to disrupt market education
MARKET OPPORTUNITY
The Career Coach prepares young people for market entry by allowing them direct access to the experts
A curated technology platform built on the premise that young people are an under-served growth engine who can be better served and supported through a strong and conscious approach to career development and success.
Its principal activities will consist of the development, sales and marketing of career-dedicated software to institutions and young people delivered via a software-as-a-service subscription model.
Addressing the journey from formal education to market, the platform uses micro-learning and gamification techniques across 6 broad service areas:
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One-on-one coaching
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Personality assessment
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Applications and assessments
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Masterclasses
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Interview preparation
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Job boards
Content design that is motivating, engaging, relevant, challenging and rewarding while also triggering behavioural change through a combination of:
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Short videos (bite-sized learning)
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Reading material and sources
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Tailored workbooks
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Quizzes
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Scenario-based learning (real-life examples)
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Social learning (collaboration tasks)
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Instant feedback (mentor network)
School Dashboard
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student and user profiles and controls
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list of masterclasses and courses
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list of mentors and trainers
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student progress reports (coaching, assignments, assessment, masterclass, work placements and training, certificates)
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summary of activities (courses completed, videos watched, mentor connections)
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helpdesk
Student Dashboard
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personal information
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learning path progression (coaching, assignments, assessment, masterclass, work placements and interview progress made)
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a comparative leaderboard of rankings
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summary of activities (courses completed, videos watched, mentor connections, likes, comments)
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downloadable content
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certificates obtained
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community chat
E-learning increases
learning retention rates
by between 25% and 60%
Save Money and Resources
Educators and academics can focus on what they do best
Professional Networks
Young people can learn directly from the market with industry mentors, recruiters and graduates
Personalisation
Edtech allows users to learn at their own pace and style; coaches and mentors can create individualised plans
STRATEGIES
- Business-to-Business where principal buyers are academic institutions
- Graduate and professional networks
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Micro learning
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Partnerships across both business and academia
PHASED GROWTH PLAN
01
TRIAL: PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Providing micro learning and gamified career coaching to initial trial private school students and graduates through a school and individual subscription package. This phase includes dedicated career skills-based masterclasses and a growing industry partnership, securing internships, apprenticeships and in the long run, job opportunities. Bahrain private schools will be the primary subscriber.
Subscription: BD18,000 per school
02
ROLL-OUT: PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Providing wider micro learning education tailored to university entry requirements, catering to both public and private school students. These e-learning courses will include self-development masterclasses, but will revolve primarily around a subscription service that incorporates English language and mathematics teaching. All Bahrain private schools will be targeted as subscribers.
Subscription: BD20,000 per school
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
A potential partnership with an academic e-learning platform in order to widen the service provision will be explored and the Ministry of Education will be sought as a subscriber enabling government school students to access the platform. Additional skills-based e-learning will support those students competing for places requiring stronger English and mathematics knowledge as well as critical future work skills such as design thinking, statistics, behavioural science and the like.
37 Government Schools Subscription of BD20,000 each
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UNIVERSITIES & TERTIARY EDUCATION
Self-development and career coaching of young adults enrolled in universities or tertiary education as well as returning students will be targeted with market-based coaching. The e-learning provision may expand to include changing and in-demand knowledge, skills and trends with certifications from subject authorities.
Subscription Fee Charged According to Number of Students per Institution
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
INSTITUTIONAL
Educators or administrative staff in schools and universities who act as career counsellors on a part time basis alongside their main duties
FAMILY
Parents and relatives who offer free career advice and access to internships or work placements through personal networks
PRIVATE ENTERPRISES
Local freelancers, affiliated offices and private companies (up to 17 of the latter), providing student application support and logistics - only one step in a more complex rung of conscious learning and growth
Local providers are fragmented, under-digitized and restricted in their scope and services.
Employing micro-learning and gamification of career advice is a new approach and may develop further into core education provision for young people and institutions seeking optimized learning solutions.
‘Innovation is your only hope, and the only new game in town is technology.’
The size of the global edtech market was valued at US $89.49 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach US $285.2 billion by 2027 due to a forecast compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.9%. Edtech is being integrated into education systems, schools and classrooms. Few are realizing its potential in market entry improvement and acceleration for young people.
CAN BAHRAIN TAKE THE LEAD IN EDTECH IN THE REGION?
DEALING WITH A YOUTH DIVIDEND
As local youth populations rise, parents are increasingly seeking private education providers as evidenced by the rise in private provision across all segments - over 30% of all students in the country are in private institutions. And with 99% of the population online, alternative, digitized modes of learning are more easily accepted.
Young people aged 15-24 are three times more likely to be unemployed compared with adults aged 25 and above... Sustainable economic growth is hinged on the need to empower young people as they enter the last stages of their educational journey and prepare for market entry.
Learners gain and retain more information through micro learning, social learning and gamification than educational institutions and classroom environments provide. In fact, learning in stretches of 3-7 minutes matches the working memory capacity and attention spans of humans.
A national solution
PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY
This is how you can help...
The Career Coach has a plan.
It has a strong team of subject matter experts.
They understand the product, the market, user and buyer preferences, and have a marketing strategy.
The Career Coach needs a national partner who can finance the company's product development stage.