There is nothing that can stop you from pursuing and realising your dreams – neither age nor the so-called gender inequalities. All you need is determination to make it and willingness to learn. And it is never too late when it comes to learning new things.
Looking for inspiration? Meet Hussain al-Marri, a Qatari who refused to accept the stalemate in his professional career and decided to advance it, even if it meant returning to formal education after a gap of 13 years.
Al-Marri did not just excel academically, obtaining 4.0 GPA when he graduated from the College of North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) in Human Resource Business Management in 2014, he acquired important soft skills that made him standout at his company RasGas.
“I started my professional journey with RasGas in 1991 but because of a lack of qualifications, I could not get to the managerial level,” al-Marri tells Community in a chat at the recently-held Tawasul Alumni night at CNA-Q.
Considering his ambition to grow, the management at his company offered him a plan, which included studying at CNA-Q and if he succeeded, to go for further education or receive support in getting to his targeted positions.
He is now returning to his college but not as a student. His company is appointing him as Sponsor Representative or a training co-ordinator for the employees of his company undergoing training at CNA-Q.
“I will be having my office here shortly which means I will be busy. I have three offices: in Ras Laffan in the field where I work, at the headquarters for meetings and now here too,” says al-Marri.
He has been a Representative Council President during his stay at CNA-Q, so he has the experience of co-ordinating between students and the management.
“I loved getting back to education after a gap of 13 years. You are mature enough and you are ready to study because you are not here to just pass examinations. The company is sending you here to become a role model for others,” says al-Marri who did exactly that.
What, he believes, gave him edge over others was his ability to manage time well, which he gained from his long work experience. “Students often face difficulties in time management in particular. But when you are mature enough, coming from work experience, you have an edge over fresh graduates in this regard,” observes al-Marri.
He says he found the same open-door policy at CNA-Q that he used to have at his work environment. The instructors were easily accessible and were very flexible in their approach towards helping students.
“So you can easily access your instructors and ask them for any assistance that you need. They are friendly, very supportive and would go to any length to help you,” says al-Marri.
He believes coming to the college first, he would have an advantage over many students who enter a university straight away. He says he has seen people fail by doing that as they do not get skills or guidance required to succeed at that level.
“You need a strong base or foundation to advance your career and I got most of my skills at CNA-Q from volunteer work and being part of other social responsibility activities. It reflects in my performances at work,” he adds.
Al-Marri is not the only one who overcame challenges to become a leader in his company.
Hyam al-Qahtani graduated from CNA-Q in 2007 and is now working as a Branch Manager at Al Khalij Commercial Bank (Al Khaliji). She joined the Bank in 2008 as an associate in the finance department and within a short period climbed the ladder up to the top.
A male-dominated profession could not hamper her ascend.
“It was maybe in the old times that certain positions were considered or seen as men-only; but as I see it, now it has changed. Women can do everything that they want if they put their minds to. There is nothing that men can do and women cannot,” al-Qahtani tells Community.
“I am a branch manager now and we have both men and women in our office. I don’t think that being a woman has created any difficulties for me in advancing my career,” she explains.
She says that while it may be true in some cases that the people around women do not support them in their endeavours, her family has been nothing but supportive.
She thinks there has been a big change in Qatar in the past five to six years. About half a decade ago, there were not many women holding good positions in the country. But now, she says, women are holding some very important posts.
“And this is very important. As I said, a woman can do anything that a man can. So it is unfair for her to just sit in the house and do nothing when she has the ambition to do something for herself and her country,” says al-Qahtani.
The knowledge she gained at the college helped her in her job. While studying Information Technology, she also gained knowledge from other majors through her interaction with colleagues and friends from other departments.
Al-Qahtani chose personal banking as her career. She started the job as a teller at the bank and got promoted to head teller and from there to be a branch manager.
Having the experience of studying at a co-education institution made it easier for her at her workplace.
“When I started college, it was my first experience of co-ed and thankfully my parents trusted me. There were people who asked my parents why they had sent me to a co-ed, but they replied they had trust in me and they knew I would do fine,” says the Qatari banker.
“Here in the college I learnt how to deal with different kinds of people and how to interact with them. I also improved my English language skills here and learnt so much more,” she adds.
Hussain al-Marri says his studies have helped him advance his career. Right: Hyam al-Qahtani says more women are getting to important positions in Qatar. Photos by Umer Nangiana
