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The Qatar Career Fair (QCF) recently presented preliminary findings of QCF 2013 at the 4th education partnership workshop held at Texas A&M University in Qatar (TAMUQ). |
One of the findings indicated that more than 55% of visitors to QCF 2013 were students in the 16-26 age group.
Abdulla al- Mansoori, executive director, QCF said: “Over 55% of visitors at QCF 2013 were students who were at the prime age to make important career path choices. Some 45% of visitors sought career guidance. This is a clear indication that there is need for increased career building opportunities for students to help them make better choices at the time that they need it most.”
He added that the most effective method is for key education institutions and related businesses to form on-going strategic partnerships that offer students continuous and accessible programmes meeting their needs.
The findings also suggested that young Qataris would benefit from increased educational collaboration between key constituents in the sector.
The participants at the TAMUQ event included representatives from the Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the Supreme Education Council (SEC) among others. They were in agreement that strategic partnerships offering tailored educational opportunities have a significant impact in spreading career awareness amongst young Qataris and encouraging them to pursue higher education with greater ease.
QCF officials also highlighted its recent partnership with HBKU in an effort to provide joint career guidance, orientation, training and development programmes for students.
HBKU Student Affairs vice president Dr Khalid al- Khanji said: “Academic guidance is extremely important in schools because that is the point at which students have to make important decisions about the next stage of their academic lives.
“They need to be given important knowledge on the labour market, especially in terms of the skill requirements and training and development opportunities required to prepare them for the next step”.
During the event, QCF’s Activities and Volunteers Officer Abdulla al-Mulla shared key initiatives in the pipeline for the year.
Amongst them is a career-development summer camp that aims to introduce career building components to students in an engaging and interactive environment.
It is the first initiative of this kind by QCF and is expected to be well-received by students, parents and partners alike.
