Doha January 21st 2009- Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Heir Apparent, the Qatar Career Fair 2009 jointly organized by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, Qatar Petroleum (QP), Qatar University and Ministry of Labour will be held from 13 to 16 April 2009 at Qatar International Exhibition Centre under the slogan (your future in your hands). In order to introduce the audience to objectives and the significance of this important fair the organization committee held a press conference on Wednesday at 10 am at the Al Sharq Village and Spa. The spokespersons in the conference were Mr. Rashid Al Naimi, President of the Steering Committee in Qatar Career Fair, the Vice President for Administration at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, Ahmad Al Mawlawi, Acting President of the Administrative affairs in Qatar Petroleum, Dr. Omar Al Ansari Vice President of student affairs in Qatar University, Mohammed Al Marrikhi Assistant Manpower office manager in the Ministry of Labour and Abdullah Al Mansoori, General Manager, Qatar Career Fair.
Mr. Rashid Al Naimi, praised the prominence Qatar Career Fair had earned through the support of His Highness, the Heir Apparent, indicating that the second fair is expected to witness widespread and effective contribution from the governmental and private sectors. Their contribution will ensure that employment and training opportunities are provided for the students in Qatar to enhance their abilities and improve their talents in order to equip them to handle the challenges facing the national growth. He added that by using the roadmap for growth set by "Qatar Vision 2030" Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development contributes efficiently in organizing this significant fair. Qatar Foundation understands the importance of this great responsibility and the role it plays as a pioneer in this field. He asserted that Qatar Foundation looks forward to seeing Qatar Career Fair implement the state's strategic policy in the field of Qatarization.
The Qatar Foundation's efforts are directed towards providing better educational opportunities for the young generation and providing them the highest and most meritorious qualification so that the national economy can benefit from human resources of the highest calibre.
Al Naimi revealed that the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is proud to work with Qatar Petroleum, Qatar University and the ministry of Labour in the career fair in order to facilitate a common meeting ground for employers and job seekers and providing them the means to achieve their respective goals.
The head of the steering committee concluded his speech by saying "Since it was established, Qatar Foundation has believed in the potential of youth and has worked on providing them with knowledge and skills that will assist them in securing important positions in various organizations".
Mr. Ahmad Al Mawlawi asserted in his speech in the conference that QP seeks to attract promising Qatari talents and provide them with job opportunities at QP to contribute to the development and prosperity of the country.
He added that the objectives of QP's participation in the Qatar Career Fair are to increase employment awareness among parents and students and identifying the labour market's requirements of engineering, technical and management specialties, in addition to giving them the opportunity to choose a branch of study that aligns with QP's future projects.
In this regard, a five-year Qatarization plan was made to employ, train and develop Qatari cadres in order to enable them to fulfill the responsibilities their job entails. The elements of flexibility and dynamism were integrated into this plan to fulfill its objectives and accommodate the rapidly changing modern technology. Recruiting 771 high-school graduates and more than 75 university graduates was one of their most distinguished achievements of this year.
To accomplish the aforementioned goals, QP has worked around the year to create employment awareness through various channels.
Dr. Omar Al Ansari, Vice President of student affairs in Qatar University spoke about the significance of the fair on a national level following the success of its first event which encouraged the university to support this fair wholeheartedly. Dr. Al Ansari stated that by participating in the organization of the Qatar Career Fair for the second consecutive year, Qatar University aims at reaching out to a wider base of students and identifying the available employment opportunities in the market, and enabling employment contracts through its designated section for profession guidance and support at the Fair. Therefore, the university's participation in the event is based on two pillars; attracting the best administrative and academic talents in the market and communicating with high-school students by introducing the university's study options to them.
He added that Qatar University is the first choice for students wishing to pursue their higher education and that the university is a key player in the Qatarization process followed in all major organizations in Qatar.
The ambitious development initiative combined with a focus on the important job skills such as communication and information technology, have helped the students acquire knowledge and achieve outstanding performance.
Dr. Ansari expressed his pride in having Qatar University as one of the four financial and moral supporters of Qatar Career Fair. He was also appreciative of the support extended by the volunteers many of whom are Qatar University students and employees who played a major role in the organization and participation in the Fair's different activities.
Mr. Mohammed Al Marrikhi Assistant Manpower office manager in the Ministry of Labour stressed in his speech during the conference that the Ministry of Labour aims at creating a larger number of job opportunities for the citizens of this country, interacting more efficiently with the process of Qatarization and grant scholarships according the requirements of every employer.
Al Marrikhi said that the recruitment process will be preceded by extensive development and training courses pertaining to the positions that the students are hired for, based on the demands of the job. He called on the participating companies to provide their support to the organizers to achieve the goals set by officials to fully realize the Qatarization strategy in the state of Qatar.
In His Speech during the Conference Mr. Abdullah Al Mansoori, General Manager, Qatar Career Fair highlighted the significance of the fair for those keen on furthering the economic affairs of the state following the grand success last year. Al Mansoori explained the various activities included in the event. He added that the fair which is expected to attract 20,000-30,000 visitors and 115 public and private sector companies participating in the Fair will witness participation from sectors such as Energy & Industry, Communications, Tourism, Insurance, Education, Media and Sports. He added that the fair this year has a special importance owing to its adherence with Qatar Vision 2030 launched by His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani Heir Apparent on 28th October. The organizers are aiming to achieve human and economic growth by fulfilling the requirements of the current generation in order to provide a bright future and fulfill the requirements of the new Qatari market. Al Mansoori also said that the fair is organizing special courses, workshops and seminars on how to write resumes, and develop employable skills of the targeted categories. Many committees were also formed to facilitate the work of the participating organizations, students and visitors.
He concluded his speech with an invitation to all students and graduates to visit the Fair and make the most of the big opportunities it provides to communicate with employers and benefit from this experience. This will go a long way in achieving the fair's objectives and message "your future in your hands".