Exclusive Partnership Between Kaplan and ConnecME Marks a New Era of Educational Solutions in the Middle East

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- ConnecME Education, the leading provider of international education solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has launched an exclusive partnership with Kaplan to offer Kaplan’s Credegree™ to deliver educational training and workforce solutions to upskill university students and working professionals across the region. Kaplan Credegree is designed to enhance the job readiness and marketability of university students by combining a traditional undergraduate degree program with a credential from Kaplan. This allows students to complete their degree while earning industry-recognized credentials that are highly valued by employers.

Kaplan Credegree programs are available for nearly 100 different industry-recognized credentials and across a continually expanding portfolio of career tracks, including information technology, data science, project management, cybersecurity, and healthcare. According to a 2019 Quest Research Group survey, more than 70% of respondents agreed that an in-demand industry credential combined with a traditional degree would help college students have a more well-rounded education and overall skill set. The MENA region is currently undergoing an upswing in higher education, with enrollment increasing, and more young people completing their college education. This may signal that employers in fast growing industries such as banking, finance and tech will need to meet the demand of not only college graduates to fill vacancies, but also qualified and professionally certified employees.

CEO of ConnecME Education Mohammad Shadid said “Bringing Kaplan’s extensive history and Credegree catalogue to the Middle East and North Africa Region in a new way is something we are proud and excited about. The Credegree program offers a timely and wonderful opportunity for university graduates not only to enter the market with their university degree, but also to be empowered by the professional qualification and training that Credegree offers. We look forward to this partnership and to the positive impact it will have across the region.”

“This partnership will bring to the region a new standard of qualification and help students and working professionals succeed in an ever changing and increasingly competitive job market,” said Brandon Busteed, president, University Partners and Global Head Learn-Work Innovation, Kaplan. “The idea of pairing an undergraduate degree or existing work experience with an industry-recognized credential is attractive to students, employees and hirers. To graduate both broadly educated and specifically-skilled is the ultimate goal now, worldwide.”

Journalists interested in learning more about how ConnecME is bringing Kaplan’s Credegree programs to the Middle East and North Africa can contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.

About Kaplan

Kaplan is a global educational services company that provides individuals, universities, and businesses with a diverse array of services, including higher and professional education, test preparation, language training, corporate and leadership training, and student recruitment, online enablement and other university support services. With operations in nearly 30 countries, Kaplan serves nearly 1.1 million students each year and has partnerships with 2,000-plus universities, colleges, and schools/school districts, and more than 4,000 businesses globally. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). For more information, please visit www.kaplan.com.

About ConnecME Education

ConnecME is an international educational company that understands the importance of empowerment and global citizenship. With our strong partnerships, we aim to provide tailored educational and career solutions to meet the unique needs of schools, universities, associations, certifying bodies, and government departments. Our goal is to provide students and lifelong learners with opportunities to help them become globally competitive and to attain excellence and recognition in the global domain. We view our role as one of continuous support to students and candidates in helping to open more doors to opportunities both home and abroad. For more information, visit www.connecme.com.

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC)

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