GSP5203 - Market Yourself

Assessment One: Part One Report

Name: Mohammed Abu Traif

ID Number: 201000575

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Introduction:
A higher education tutor plays a crucial role towards success of learners and the educational entity itself.
The key role of the tutor is basically to provide academic support, professional development planning
and pastoral care. The aim of this role is to provide an ideal experience and excellent outcomes for
students through exemplary teaching and learning practice. However, specific duties of tutors vary from
one institute to another (Yartseva, 2012). For example, duties of Bahrain Polytechnic tutors and Bahrain
University tutors are relatively different as the Polytechnic relies on applied studies while Bahrain
University relies mainly on theoretical studies. The aim of this report is to identify and analyze the
requirements of a logistics tutor position at the Polytechnic. This report also aims to find out the
benefits that can be gained through the position.
On 5th of November 2014, I interviewed Mr. Jalil Ebrahim,
logistics tutor, at his office. The organization that he works for is
Bahrain Polytechnic, while the industry is education. He joined
the Polytechnic in June 2008, when he had applied to the tutor
position through the Polytechnic website (Ebrahim, 2014). I
asked him several questions to learn about the position.
Qualifications:
The logistics tutor position requires a minimum of a bachelor
degree along with practical experience in the logistics field.
Acquiring the required academic qualification without work
experience is not sufficient for a candidate to fill the position.
The Polytechnic (employer) necessitates practical experience for
the tutor position as it heavily relies on applied studies that
require a broad knowledge about the industry. Moreover, teaching qualifications, such as a CTTL course,
are required to provide tutors with the necessary knowledge, skills and competences that aid to fulfill
teaching role and responsibilities of tutors. (Ebrahim, 2014).
For the logistics tutor position, it is preferred that the tutor attend specialized courses, including courses
provided by International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) (Ebrahim, 2014).
Skills:
Communication skills are the most important element for the position because the tutor needs these
skills in order to effectively communicate with students, colleagues, visitors and others. Tutor need to
use verbal and non-verbal communication techniques to clearly deliver the message or information to
students (Ebrahim, 2014).
Time management skills are other important requirement for the tutor position. The tutor usually works
within tight work schedule. Thus, it is crucial for the tutor to efficiently manage their time. The Tutor has

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several tasks to fulfill within a certain timeframe,

including class preparation, exams and
assignment preparation marking and professional
development. All of which require a time
allocation (Ebrahim, 2014).

Nowadays, information technology skills are

critical skills for the tutor. The Polytechnic provide
the tutor with different teaching technological
resources in order to enhance their teaching practices. The tutor should know how to use PC, internet,
smart board, email and databases (Banner, LCC Database & Moodle) so that he/she can improve the
delivery of services (Ebrahim, 2014).
Problem- solving skills are extremely necessary for the tutor in order to address student issues. During
their academic life, students sometimes experience obstacles or problems that impact on their study.
Therefore, the tutor should support students and guide them in order to help them overcome the
obstacles and solve the problems (Ebrahim, 2014).
Moreover, the tutor should have hands-on skills. These skills are often acquired through working in the
logistics industry (Ebrahim, 2014). For example, handling and storing dangerous goods require certain
skills and these skills can be acquired through working in warehouse operations.
Nature of work:
The tutor is responsible for managing the teaching and learning situations in assigned programmes and
courses. He/she designs and produces teaching materials and participates in on-going curriculum
development in collaboration with team members. The tutor sets and marks student assessments,
including assignments and examination papers. The tutor is also responsible for making sure that
students are able to understand and demonstrate the learning outcome of the course (Ebrahim, 2014)
(Gulf Talent, n.d.).
Salary and benefits:
According to the pay schedule of The Civil Service Bureau, the salary range for Bahraini tutors is from
BD800 to BD1500, depending on qualifications and work experience. In addition to the salary, the
Polytechnic tutor gains a number of benefits, such as health insurance for family, BD20 for telephone
allowance, annual leave of 50 working days and professional development opportunities (Ebrahim,
2014).
Workload:
The Polytechnic allocates 40 working hours a week for tutors. These hours are divided into two, 20
hours for teaching and 20 hours for preparation. Currently, logistics tutors have a large amount of

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workload due to severe staffing shortage in the Logistics School. They work overtime to cover the staff
shortage. Sometimes, tutor takes a portion of their work at home in order to complete their task on
time (Ebrahim, 2014).
Challenges:
The first challenge that the tutor faces during their career life is managing a classroom. An appropriate
study environment has to be ensured by the tutor in the classroom so that every student enjoys learning
and participating in class activities. Further, willingness and capability of getting a broad knowledgerelated to the subject is another challenge for the tutor. When questions are received from students,
colleagues or auditors, the tutor has to be well-prepared to answer any question related to the course,
particularly in the classroom where the tutor is supposed to answer the questions directly (Ebrahim,
2014).
The most challenging task is to deal with students with different backgrounds, abilities and attitudes.
The tutor should utilize a number of techniques to manage the classroom. For example, when a noisy
student refuses paying attention the tutor should attract the student by asking him/her questions or
asking him/her to stand up to explain the topic (Ebrahim, 2014).
Opportunities:
Currently, there is only one Bahraini in the Logistics School. There is a staff shortage in this field, where
there are vacancies but there are no qualified candidates to fill the vacancies. Consequently, there is a
big chance for a candidate to be a tutor once he/she meets the requirements of the position (Ebrahim,
2014).
In the future, the tutor has a good opportunity to be a programme manager or a researcher. There is a
need for a number of managerial positions, which in turn makes the opportunity to get promotion
bigger (Ebrahim, 2014).
Recommendations:
In order to get a job as a logistics tutor, the engagement in higher studies and industry-related courses
paves the way for a candidate to succeed. In addition, the candidate should work in the logistics industry
so that he/she can acquire hands-on skills and experience necessary to perform the job effectively. The
candidate has constantly to update his/her knowledge of the industry to improve their opportunity to
be employed as a tutor (Ebrahim, 2014).
Independent research:
I found there are significant similarities between my interview findings and my research, particularly in
the qualifications and skills required for the position. The both sources indicate that academic
qualifications and industry experience are equally important. However, I discovered that there are
differences in terms with standards of some universities in recruiting tutors. A relevant industry

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experience is not necessary for several institutes, unlike Bahrain Polytechnic (Iowa State University, n.d.)
(Oxford Learning Institute, 2014).
A number of institutes require a master degree for the tutor position or at least a bachelor degree with
strong GPA (Hofstra University, n.d.), while the Polytechnic does not require this. Further, salary range
and benefits, working hours and workload vary from one institute to another.
Conclusion:
I found that the logistics tutor position is very suitable for me. I have over 8 years of practical experience
in the logistics field and will have my bachelor degree by the end of this year. All of which supports my
suitability for the position. However, I need to have teaching and specialized qualifications in order to
enable me to appropriately carry out my teaching role and responsibilities. I also need to develop my
skills in order to enhance my chance to get the tutor job. I need particularly to improve my
communication skills so that I can deliver the idea to students in a very clear way. For example, when I
want to deliver information to students with different levels of understanding I would use different
communication methods to clearly deliver the idea, including video, pictures, body language and
gesture.

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Bibliography
Ebrahim, J. (2014, November 05). Tutor: Maritime & Logistics School. (M. A. Traif, Interviewer)
Gulf Talent. (n.d.). English Tutor. Retrieved November 08, 2014, from Gulf Talent:
http://www.gulftalent.com/home/English-Tutor-jobs-in-Bahrain-66345.html
Hofstra University. (n.d.). University Tutorial Program. Retrieved November 08, 2014, from Hofstra
University: http://www.hofstra.edu/StudentAffairs/advise/advise_utp_tutor.html
Iowa State University. (n.d.). Becoming A Tutor. Retrieved November 08, 2014, from Iowa State
University: http://www.dso.iastate.edu/asc/tutoring/becomeatutor
Oxford Learning Institute. (2014, August 29). Tutorial teaching. Retrieved November 07, 2014, from
Oxford Learning Institute: https://www.learning.ox.ac.uk/support/teaching/resources/teaching/
Yartseva, A. (2012, June). PERSONAL TUTORING IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Retrieved November 06, 2014,
from BCU: http://www2.bcu.ac.uk/docs/downloads/celt/AAP12_A_Yartseva.pdf

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