7LOCAL/GULFARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

Third media fest to showcase ‘my career’ program

GCC joint institution presents works at Jordan festivalAMMAN, Aug 24, (KUNA): The GCC Joint Programs Production Institution (GCCJPPI) will showcase three works at Jordan-hosted Third Media Festival. The institution’s pub-

lic relations chairman, Ali Al-Mutair, told KUNA, on Wednesday, on the festival margins that the participation is the second of its kind since last year’s session, when its programs

earned some prizes.The institution is striving to produce

educational programs that address the hearts and minds of GCC and Arab citizens on contemporary issues, he

said, explaining that it will present a 30-episode children television program themed “my career” which sheds light on various crafts, in addition to two documentaries titled “Mangrove Trees”

and “Kingdom of Birds in Bahrain.” The institution was established in 1976 with aim of boosting quality of com-mon GCC audio-visual programs.

The festival, due Aug 22-25, is co-

organized by the Jordanian media authority and the Arab League. Its agenda tackles contemporary challeng-es facing the Arab media and modern technology in the sector.

Kuwaiti students in searchfor paying jobs, survey finds

KOC tops employers list KISR-KOC joint research projectto preserve coral reefs in KubberKUWAIT CITY, Aug 24, (KUNA): The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) announced on Tuesday that it would conduct a survey on the coral reefs on the Kubber island.

The survey is a part of a joint research project with the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) for the rehabilitation of the coral reefs on and around the island, KISR added.

According to the KISR statement, up to 60 percent of the reefs on Kubber has died out.

Major damage has been caused by visitors who use anchors instead of the slips for tying their boats, KISR said. They also pollute the water in the vicinity of the island.

The rising temperature in the world over the past few years has also offered a killing factor.

This has prompted cooperation between KISR and the KOC for develop-ing solutions, namely securing artificial colonies for rehabilitating the reefs, in addition to securing incubators for them.

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 24: Kuwait’s upcom-ing pool of job-seekers has prioritised high wages as their main objective when choosing a career, a leading talent survey has revealed.

Hundreds of university students were questioned by the international employment research company Universum, the majority of whom listed high future earnings as their leading career preference over factors including on-the-job training, opportunities to travel, and a creative work environment.

The findings show that Kuwait-based employers must offer competitive salaries in line with graduate expectations if they are to secure the best of the country’s emerging talent pool.

Kuwait was one of six countries surveyed as part of the company’s Middle East Talent Survey 2016, along with the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Conducted over a six-month period, the research uncovers university students’ attitudes about employers and what drives their career decision-making.

Claudia Tattanelli, Chairman of the Strategic Advisory Board at Universum, said: “The findings offer employers a key insight into the priorities of Kuwait-based students. Firms that offer leadership opportunities, an innovative working environment, and the chance to travel overseas will be popular among graduates. However, they may miss out on the top talent if they are unable to offer the most competitive salaries.”

Universum is a global leader in employer attractiveness research and insights. The company delivers a range of ser-vices to empower employers to better attract, recruit and retain talent.

Its Kuwait survey gathered responses from 709 male and female students in five universities throughout the country. The majority of respondents were studying in fields related to banking/commerce, followed by engineering/IT and humanities/liberal arts/education/law.

PrioritiesWhen asked what they looked for in their future employ-

ers, the majority of respondents across genders and degree subjects said they sought high future earnings, followed by on-the-job training and a company that respects its staff. Comparing priorities between genders, women highly-rated opportunities for overseas travel and the need for a creative working environment, while men listed ‘respect for its peo-ple’ and ‘prestige’ as other key preferences. The desire for performance recognition was another leading preference among business/commerce and engineering/IT students.

In terms of respondents’ personal career goals, the desire for work/life balance was a leading ambition among busi-ness/commerce students. The objective to be creative and entrepreneurial jumped four places from Universum’s 2015 survey to rank second, making it a more desirable goal than job security and leadership opportunities.

When asked to name their favoured career industries, more than half of business/commerce students chose the banking sector, followed by professional services. When naming their ideal employer, the majority of respondents studying these subjects chose Kuwait Oil Company. Google, Kuwait Investment Authority and National Bank of Kuwait were also highly sought after companies to work for, the survey found.

Turning to engineering/IT students, the ambition to be creative and entrepreneurial was the most commonly men-tioned personal career goal, jumping four places from the 2015 survey. The majority of engineering/IT students chose the energy sector as the industry they would ideally work in after graduating. Engineering and manufacturing, aerospace and defence, and software and computer services were also popular choices. Kuwait Oil Company was the top choice among engineering/IT students with close to half of respon-dents selecting the energy giant. Google, Apple, Q8 and Microsoft made up the top five.

“The survey reveals that employers face a daunting task if they are to attract the best graduates away from Kuwait Oil Company,” said Mrs Tattanelli. “However, our survey has revealed that more and more Kuwaiti students are seeking the chance to be creative and innovative in their careers, which is something that smaller companies can offer.

“The Universum survey is a crucial tool in helping employ-ers get an insight into what students are prioritising in their future careers and enabling companies to match what they offer to student expectations.”

For more information on Universum and for the full sur-vey findings, please visit: http://bit.ly/2abihYx.

Maj Gen Al-Habashnah receives documents of medical units from WHO representative Dr Rofeli.

KUNA photosOne of the Kuwait financed mobile medical units in Jordan.

Al-Duaij praises Royal Medical Services

State heads Arab tariffs panel

Move to increase VoA fee to 2,000 THB

Jordan receives two Kuwaitifinanced mobile medic units

Kuwait scraps nuclear powerplans due to exorbitant costs

Thailand to raise visa on arrival feesKUWAIT CITY, Aug 24: Starting from Sept 27, 2016, Thailand, by the order of Ministry of Interior No. 30 B.E. 2559 (2016) dated 1 July B.E. 2559 (2016), will increase its VoA fee from 1,000 to 2,000 THB. Tourists from Andorra, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are entitled to apply for VoA at 42 designated immigration checkpoints, which will allow tourists to stay in the country up to 15 days, says the press release from the Royal Thai embassy in Kuwait.

42 designated immigration checkpoints to apply for the VoA are as follows;

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Samut Prakarn; Don Muang International Airport, Bangkok; Chiangmai International Airport, Chiangmai; Phuket International Airport, Phuket; Hatyai International Airport, Songkhla; U Tapao Airport, Rayong; Mae Sai Immigration Checkpoint, Chiangrai; Chiang Saen Immigration Checkpoint, Chiangrai; Chiang Khong Immigration Checkpoint, Chiangrai; Betong Immigration Checkpoint, Yala; Sadao Immigration Checkpoint, Songkhla; Samui Airport, Surat Thani; Sukhothai International Airport, Tak Immigration Checkpoint; Bangkok Harbour Immigration Checkpoint, Bangkok; Sri Racha Immigration Checkpoint,

Chonburi; Mabtaput Immigration Checkpoint, Rayong; Nong Khai Immigration Checkpoint, Nong Khai; Samui Immigration Checkpoint, Surat Thani; Phuket Immigration Checkpoint, Phuket; Satun Immigration Checkpoint, Satun; Krabi Immigration Checkpoint, Krabi; Songkhla Harbour Immigraion Checkpoint, Songkhla; Chiangrai Airport Immigration Checkpoint, Chiangrai; Surat Thani Airport Immigration Checkpoint, Surat Thani; Sattahip Harbour Immigration Checkpoint, Chonburi; Khlong Yai Immigration Checkpoint, Trat; Pong Nam Ron Immigration Checkpoint, Chanthaburi; Aranyaprathet Immigration Checkpoint, Sakaeo; Mukdahan Immigration Checkpoint, Mukdahan; Tak Immigration Checkpoint, Tak; Padang Besar Immigration Checkpoint, Songkhla; Su-ngai Kolok Immigration Checkpoint, Narathiwat; Nong Khai Immigration Checkpoint, Nong Khai; Bueng Kan Immigration Checkpoint, Bueng Kan; Phibun Mangsahan Immigration Checkpoint, Ubon Ratchathani; Tha Li Immigration Checkpoint, Loei; Nakhon Phanom Immigration Checkpoint, Nakhon Phanom; Nan Immigration Checkpoint, Nan; Ban Prakob Immigration Checkpoint, Songkhla; Khuan Don Immigration Checkpoint, Satun; Tak Bai Immigration Checkpoint, Narathiwat; Bukit Tal Immigration Checkpoint, Narathiwat.

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 24: The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) has can-celled a plan to build a nucle-ar power plant due to the exorbitant cost, reports gulf-business.com.

Kuwait was supposed to obtain a license from the United Nations to implement the project, but the ministry decided to call it off due to results of studies which showed the plan is not viable and very costly.

The ministry has also been quoted as saying that alterna-tive sources of energy like wind and solar power are more cost effective, since the country is expected to need several new power stations between 2020 and 2030.

In recent years, Gulf nations have turned their attention to nuclear plants to diversify their energy sourc-es.

The United Arab Emirates is currently constructing four nuclear reactors at a plant in

Barakah, which is scheduled for completion in 2020.

Saudi Arabia too has ambi-tious nuclear power plans and could construct up to 16 reactors over the next 20 years, according to the World Nuclear Association.

Last week, Russia’s ener-gy minister expressed an interest in helping the king-dom develop its nuclear power sector.

The State of Kuwait has been elected for the sixth consecutive time as chair of Arab panel charged with tackling tariff exemption namely in the aviation realm.

Omar Al-Wilayati, observ-er of international treaties at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Finance, said in a statement the State of Kuwait was elected as head of the com-mittee, tasked with amending the treaty for tariffs exemp-tion for Arab aviation and cargo.

Al-Wilayati, who was speaking on margins of the

commission meeting held today, said developments in the air transport sector have warranted re-examining the relevant 30-year-old accord, indicating that adopted pro-posals for the new treaty would be submitted to the Arab Social and Economic Council.

AMMAN, Aug 24, (KUNA): Jordan’s Royal Medical Services of the Armed Forces received on Wednesday from the World Health Organization (WHO) two mobile medical clinic units funded by the State of Kuwait in support of providing treatment to patients in remote areas.

The ceremony, was held at the head-quarters of the Royal Medical Services in the capital Amman, and was attended by Kuwait’s Ambassador to Jordan Dr Hamad Al-Duaij and Royal Medical Service General Manager, Major General Dr Muaian Al-Habashnah and WHO repre-sentative in Jordan Dr Maria Cristina Rofeli.

Al-Duaij stressed in a statement to KUNA, on the depth and strength of relations between Kuwait and Jordan in various fields, praising bilateral cooperation in the field of

health and medical care.The Kuwaiti ambassador praised the role

played by Jordan’s Royal Medical Services and the optimum use of available resources through medical qualified personnel and modern techniques, stressing on the impor-tance of benefiting from the Jordanian expertise in this area.

Al-Duaij also stressed keenness on the Kuwaiti leadership, government and people to strengthen relations with Jordan and pro-vide necessary support and aid to the large number of Syrian refugees in Jordan.

For his part, Al-Habashnah praised the continued support by Kuwait to Jordan and the World Health Organization.

Al-Habashnah added that financing the project by Kuwait was a clear evidence of the “fruitful cooperation” in the field of pro-viding medical and health care.