National Career Development Association
International Award
June 29, 2011
Ahmed Mostafa
Starting and Growing a Career Development Facilitator Program in Egypt
Career educators around the world are recognizing the need for career development training programs. Ahmed Mostafa demonstrates the energy, determination, and motivation that is required to fill this need. He has conducted four Career Development Facilitator trainings in Cairo over the past nine months. In this interview he discusses how and why he has been so effective in starting and growing this training.
Read article "GCDF Experiences: Practicing Career Development in Egypt," in Center for Credentialing and Education Fall 09 newsletter.
Master Trainer Roberta Floyd joins CDF Instructor Ahmed Mostafa and CDF graduates.
Bio
With a background is in information systems/technology, Ahmed Mostafa Kamal started computer studies in 1985. He earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems. Through his work on the Management Information System (MIS) and the Decision Support System (DSS), he had the chance to learn about different fields in order to develop and reform systems. He worked in capacity building projects for seven years, most recently as IT advisor for the minister of finance (through one of the USAID projects), where he was responsible for policy and system reform.
As chief operation officer of a unique model for a career development center, incubated by an Egyptian nonprofit organization called Nahdet El Mahrousa, inside the Cairo University Faculty of Engineering, Ahmed came to the conclusion that a professional career development program was needed to address all the challenges and issues that students face with regards to their careers. After some research, he determined that the Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) program would fill this need. He is now growing the CDF program in his country.
Introduction
This is Dr. Sally Gelardin with Careerwell Tele-Interviews. Our speaker today is Ahmed Mostafa (wearing white t-shirt in center), certified as a Career Development Facilitator Instructor by NCDA Master Trainer Roberta Floyd, and NCDA-certified CDF e-Learning Instructor. Ahmed is introducing the CDF training to Egypt. He conducted four CDF training programs in the first nine months of his certification as CDF Instructor. In this interview, we shall discover how he has been so effective.
Interview Questions
- You conducted a marketing exercise to demonstrate how to market a career development program. In the exercise, you asked participants to draw a stick figure and then a triangle. Could you share with listeners the words that you asked participants to write in the triangle? Why did you suggest those words?
- When you started bringing career development training to Egypt, you started with very little money, no organization, and no current sources of support. How did that change?
- What are you doing to support career development in Egypt? (GCDF program, parenting courses program, marriage counseling, eldering program)
- What themes run though your work (courage, entrepreneurship, people, finding sources of support)?
- What gave you the incentive to get the CDF training? Any family influences?
- What did you do for work before you entered the career development field at the public university? What was your role?
- How do intergenerational issues come into your teaching of students?
Closing
Thank you Ahmed Mostafa, for your inspirational interview on setting up a Career Development Facilitator training program in Egypt. As far as I know, you have conducted the most CDF trainings (four) in the shortest amount of time (nine months) of any new CDF Instructor. You are very highly motivated to bring career development to Egypt.