In 2015 - DP World launched a unique global education programme for 8-14 year olds across its international network. The global trade and logistics enabler aims to engage 34,000 children by 2020 with employees delivering a range of modules in local schools as part of their volunteering leave. Working with a specialist agency and consulting with teachers, the content covers a wide range of topics to engage young people in ports, trade and logistics, a little-known and often overlooked part of the world economy.

DP World’s Education Programme is part of our approach to address the need for better educational standards internationally. The pioneering scheme aims to boost the skills, aspirations and confidence of young people in the communities where we operate, raising awareness about the maritime sector, trade and logistics, and related career options. It also aims to develop a talent pipeline of future employees in our business.

The content covers a wide range of topics to engage young people in ports, trade and logistics. Subjects include port management, sustainability, careers in trade and logistics and the maritime sector, geography, ocean protection, disaster relief, illegal wildlife trafficking, mathematics and design and technology.

Modules come with guidance and delivery notes, lesson plans, student activities and worksheets. It has been implemented in fourteen languages – from Arabic and English to Hindi, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Thai, Korean Portuguese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Romanian and Dutch. The first lessons were initially piloted in the UAE , India, Pakistan, Senegal, the UK, Argentina and the Philippines and were rolled out across the rest of DP World’s network in over six continents.

Working with educational experts has been key to the successful creation and implementation of the programme. DP World partnered with EdComs, the UK's largest communications and marketing agency specialising in education, who provided the necessary expertise to develop materials suitable for 8-14 year olds and robustly tested the modules with teachers to ensure the programme was as tailored and appropriate as possible.

The programme aims to:

Boost the skills, aspirations and confidence of young people in the communities where DP World operates, raising awareness about the maritime sector, trade and logistics, and related career options:

- Better understanding of potential careers is vital for the maritime and logistics industry.
- The sector is changing due to new technology and the skills needed by employees are undergoing huge developments; if businesses want to tackle this looming crisis they have to play their part in increasing knowledge and skills of and for the sector.

Develop a talent pipeline of future employees in our business and within our higher education programmes:

-The modules are designed to improve specific skills, such as numeracy, as well as encouraging children to think laterally and explore new subject areas such as sustainability and careers in the maritime industry

Help support employees’ personal and professional development:

-The programme is designed to be easy for employees to deliver as part of their volunteering leave. Modules come with lesson plans, guidance and delivery notes, student activities and worksheets – everything our people need to help deliver an inspiring session to young students in their community. Employees can choose to deliver the modules which best suits their role and experience.

o Over 18,000 students have participated in the programme

o 97.3% of teachers said the programme provided something the school couldn’t

o 96.6% of students said they learned something new

o Over 580 volunteers in 18 countries have participated and delivered the modules to date

o 97% of young people involved said they made a connection to the material and 71%
developed new skills.

Developing skills in a crucial sector

One of the distinctive aspects of the programme is its focus on developing skills for a future talent pipeline in one of the world’s most vital industries. There is a major need to increase awareness of trade and logistics among young people and their parents. 90% of all goods and freight around the world are shipped, which highlights how integral it is to engage young people in the sector and the employment opportunities. The logistics and maritime sector is a rapidly changing and increasingly innovative sector, and it is therefore essential to engage young people as early as possible to help them understand trends and developments.


Encouraging a diverse workforce

The programme is a helpful way to break down gender and diversity barriers. The modules are being delivered by men and women of all ethnicities, which shows young people that there are no barriers to entering our industry. One of the employees in the pilot explained that their highlight was “the excitement the girls showed when they realised that they could also become terminal operatives”.

Strengthening communities

The programme also supports intergenerational contact in terms of employees passing on insights to a younger generation. As one of DP World’s employees commented, the initiative provides “great relationship building within the community”.

Measuring impact to inform and improve

The programme is available to all DP World employees across the world, in eight languages and in classrooms of differing technological capabilities. A key question in the development of this programme was, ‘how do we measure the impact of this programme in a way which transcends digital, developmental and geographical barriers?’

In partnership with EdComs, DP World developed an evaluation strategy whereby students, employee volunteers and teachers contribute their feedback through questionnaires written for each specific audience in mind, provided in the local language, and available online or on paper. Questionnaire responses feed into one purpose-built education portal, and the impact of the programme can be measured on a school, local and global level.

A class of students participating in one module in Vancouver can be compared with a class participating in the same module in Manila. DP World can use the insight accessed through the portal to seek ways in which to constantly improve the programme and to ensure the programme is making the impact on students, teachers and employees.

As the scheme is global, there are of course a wide range of employees that will deliver it and an array of different pupils that have differing needs. Having a variety of nine different modules means we can deliver on the diverse needs of schools and different interests of volunteers.

The modules are also differentiated for younger and older students, providing different levels of challenge across school age groups. For younger students (age 7-11), DP World also developed a series of illustrated characters who represent DP World’s diverse workforce. The characters help bring the programme to life in a relatable way for younger students.

Global education needs are urgent, particularly in priority areas and developing economies where DP World has a presence. Indeed, 250 million children around the world cannot read or write, despite being in school.

The global roll out of the programme followed a survey conducted by You Gov and DP World, which found that:

• Under half (49%) of parents of 8-14 year olds in the Middle East and North Africa are optimistic about their children’s future
• Less than a third (28%) knew what trade and logistics mean, but once informed, two thirds (67%) believed it was important their children knew more about this industry and a similar amount (60%) would be interested in their child working in the industry

90% of all goods and freight around the world are shipped, which highlights how integral it is to engage young people in this crucial sector and raise awareness of the broad employment opportunities. As a leader in global trade and logistics, DP World wanted to ensure that our people and our resources served as a vehicle for education and that we helped young people understand more about trade and its crucial role. Through the education programme, DP World is helping ensure the future growth of a vital sector.

http://dpworld.ae/en/NewsLetterContent/17

https://www.menaherald.com/en/business/education/dp-world%E2%80%99s-global-education-programme-wins-third-international-sustainability

https://vimeo.com/166774018

https://vimeo.com/220474172

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfbQPD-9mw4

https://vimeo.com/220463625