Michael Moe

Creating a 21st Century Workforce: Entrepreneurship, Apprenticeship and Lifelong Learning

Michael Moe, Christine Gulbranson, Badr Jafar, Maysa Jalbout, Abbas Kazmi, Jonathan Sokoloff, Mike Moe, John Sokoloff

A panel of experts and regional leaders convened to address the critical mismatch between the MENA region's young, rapidly growing demographic and its persistently high youth unemployment rates exacerbated by global automation trends. Speakers highlighted strategic pivots toward continuous learning, e-commerce expansion, and women's workforce inclusion, while citing specific initiatives like the Abdallah Al-Ghorair Foundation's support for underserved youth and the University of California System's venture capital pipeline as models for economic transformation. The discussion concluded that overcoming cultural stigmas around failure and integrating corporate governance frameworks are essential to fostering a resilient startup ecosystem capable of generating the net new jobs required for future prosperity.