The move follows encouraging economic forecasts for the UAE in recent months, with experts predicting growth of over 4% in 2013.
Simon Allen, CEO of Macmillan Education, commented: ‘We are immensely proud of our achievements in the region thus far, whether through our partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education (on our Lift Off, Get Ready and Flying High courses), or in the success of primary courses such as Macmillan English and English World across the private school sector.
Expanding our presence in the UAE recognises the extraordinary vision of Gulf leaders in establishing their nations as leading knowledge-based economies not only in the Middle East, but in the world.’
The move sees the company’s first appointment of a locally based Manager for the Gulf region, Matthew Hayes, formerly manager of digital and supermarket sales at Pan Macmillan in the UK. A new ELT Sales Consultant, Nicolas Abdelmassih, will be dedicated to the UAE market. He brings a wealth of experience from previous roles with Arab Gulf. They will be working out of the company’s Dubai office in Media City.
This comes as both private and public sectors across the UAE further integrate English language into educational curricula and business practice. Matthew Hayes commented: ‘A local presence is essential to our commitment in the region. Only with such a presence can we develop our knowledge of the market, and place such understanding at the forefront of our publishing strategy. The year ahead will see substantial investment from us, with a number of exciting new product launches, workshops and teacher training opportunities, alongside an innovative publishing programme of new and updated courses. With digital development now at the forefront of our global strategy, and countries like the UAE spearheading its adoption in education, there is simply no better place to be.’
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