The British Council, leaders in the field of English language teaching and learning, is initiating a new programme dedicated to helping the region support its’ English language needs in the workplace.

The ‘English for the Workplace’ Symposium will be held on 12th and 13th December 2007 at the Gulf Hotel, Manama.

The symposium will address some of the needs of the Gulf countries’ nationalization agendas, as English is one of the key components.

The symposium will bring together private and government sector senior policy makers and decision takers from across the region to discuss key issues with a  range of international experts from countries such as UK, Romania, Bahrain and the UAE.

The outcomes from the symposium will make it easier for employers to address the English language needs of their employees, and work closely with the education sectors.

“The main objective of the symposium”, says Sandra Hamrouni, Director, British Council Bahrain, “is to bring together the vocational education and training sector and the employment sector in order to discuss the English language needs of the international work environment. This will culminate in a draft a plan of action to support the teaching and learning of English for work “.

Expected outcomes of the ‘English for the Workplace’ symposium are:

• An agreement between the employers and educators  regarding the English language needs of employees,  and a draft set of policies and action plans to reflect these
• Stronger relationships between employers and educators in the region
• Regional partnerships and networks to take forward ‘English for the Workplace’ recommendations
• A symposium publication which will include summaries of   papers presented by English for the Workplace specialists.
• Follow-on  seminars  which will focus on the outcome of collaboration and research carried out as a result of this symposium

If you would like to find out more about this symposium please contact the British Council office on 17 261555.