Education opportunities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Published 27 October 2014
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1. Market potential
The UAE education and training market is a priority market for UKTI Education owing to:
- Opportunities existing across a number of sub-sectors – including private international schools, Early Years education, teacher and leadership training and educational technology
- Recognition by both the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) that the K-12 school sector, while one of the strongest in the Gulf, needs further expansion
- UK education and training expertise being highly valued in the UAE
2. Large-scale education and training opportunities in 2015/16
The UAE is a UKTI Education priority market and a UAE high value education and training opportunity has been identified based on the following areas:
- Opening and operating international schools in Dubai
- Opening and operating international schools in Abu Dhabi
- Delivering a range of other education and training programmes being driven by various UAE federal education ministries, the KHDA and the ADEC, including TVET related to the World Expo 2020, being held in Dubai
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3. Additional market information
3.1 Geographical considerations
The UAE is a confederation of seven emirates located in the southeast of the Arabian peninsula. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the largest and wealthiest of the emirates.
The UAE’s current strategic plan focuses on diversification and creating more job opportunities for Emirati nationals through improved education and increased private sector employment. Each emirate also has its own education priorities and budgets for its local populations.
The population of the UAE was 9.3 million in 2014 of which circa 90% of the population are non-Emirati (including circa 250,000 British expats).
3.2 Education sector overview
A large and growing Western expat population in Dubai and Abu Dhabi continues to drive demand for private international schools. The federal government’s current strategic plan focuses on economic diversification and creating more job opportunities for Emirati nationals through improved education and increased private sector employment. Each emirate also has its own education priorities and budgets for its local populations.
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