The impressive diversity of career opportunities on offer at the Qatar Career Fair (QCF) 2012 is a reflection of the country’s desire to shift away from an exclusively carbon-based economy. While the energy industry has a strong representation, it is accompanied by sectors that are increasingly dependent on the innovation of youth.
ictQATAR: Through its TumuhaTEC programme, ictQATAR presented ICT role models from a range of careers, interactive information sessions and hands-on workshops at its booth, themed “Plug ur ambition in 2 ICT”.The TumuhaTEC team will be at the Career Fair throughout the week-long event helping high school and college students, as well as other job seekers, to understand the boundless potential of a career in ICT. “The ICT Industry is growing at a rapid pace, creating many new and exciting job opportunities for Qatar’s youth. Through our TumahaTEC programme, ictQATAR is working to ensure people are fully aware of the many different career paths within this sector. The ICT industry still needs engineers, programmers and developers, but it also extends well beyond that, to include careers such as graphic design, game development, digital content creation and more. ictQATAR is committed to connecting the most talented youth we have in Qatar to ICT career opportunities that will truly charge their ambitions,” said Robin Blake, executive director of ICT & Society, ictQATAR. So far the TumuhaTEC booth has featured presentations from youngsters who developed mobile apps and another who created a robotic prototype, both of which were created while the inventors were still in high school. There was also a workshop on creating digital comic characters held by two Qatari cartoon animators, as well as a presentation about the Arabic search engine Masabeeh. Over the remaining days of the Career Fair, there will be a range of ongoing activities at the TumuhaTEC booth including presentations from ictQATAR’s digital incubation centre on how young entrepreneurs with an interest in digital content can start their own business and from Mada, the Assistive Technology Centre, showcasing a laptop for the visually impaired.
Workshops will also include the ABC’s of creating mobile applications and how to programme an interactive game. Additional highlights of the coming week include Al-Ahli Hospital showcasing their Capsule Endoscopy Pillcam, which is state-of-the-art technology used in the medical field and Qatar Science & Technology Park’s “Loghati”, an e-Communication platform that creates virtual libraries, making ancient and modern Arabic texts available in English world-wide.
q.media: Qatar Media Services (q.media) is helping careers shine by inviting Qatar’s most creative and confident young minds to join the ambitious company. q.media is one of the largest media companies in the Middle East and is a leader in driving media innovation and creativity in Qatar, a sector that is changing the shape of the entire Middle East’s media landscape.q.media has a distinguished history of supporting students, particularly those at Qatar University, in initiatives that help fresh graduates gain more understanding of the company and its award-winning affiliates.“We have all seen the massive changes across the region led by youth-driven media and new media tools. q.media has an obligation to prepare a new generation of future media leaders to take charge of the changing dynamics as well as become thought leaders,” said Ahmed al-Misned, HR director at q.media. “We help careers shine and q.media has adopted an ambitious Qatarisation strategy built on supporting local talents and nurturing them to be at the helm.” At a purpose-built q.media kiosk at the five-day event, prospective applicants and job-seekers will have the opportunity to network with company personnel, get acquainted with the far-reaching mandate of q.media, determine a possible role in the rapidly-evolving media industry, and discuss various career and internship positions currently available at the company.“Our presence at the Qatar Career Fair 2012 is the best opportunity to attract Qatar’s best creative minds to q.media. We continually strive to provide young talent with opportunities to shine in a variety of fields ranging from advertising, communications, human resources, finances, events, publishing and many more. This is a tremendous opportunity for the stand out candidates to make an impression and get a foot in the door,” explained al-Misned.
NBK: Nasser Bin Khaled, one of Qatar’s leading business conglomerates, has brought its staff to the fair to discuss and advise the attending audience of the diverse career opportunities available with the group.NBK chairman Sheikh Nawaf Nasser bin Khaled al-Thani said: “At NBK we offer several enrolment and internship programmes for the endowed Qatari nationals. This initiative is part of our commitment to engage and create future leaders from our local talent; we aim to encourage and enable the future generation to develop their skills and contribute to the community and the country.” NBK has significant interests in automobiles, construction, oil and gas, agriculture, real estate, consultancy, fashion and hospitality.
Total: Total has returned to the QCF for the fifth time as part of its effort to deepen the education, knowledge and skills of its Qatari employees and increase their participation in the private sector by providing training opportunities, high quality work experience and capacity-building, either internally or internationally in their second home, France. Stephane Michel, managing director of Total Qatar, said: “We are definitely focusing on accelerating the recruitment of talented Qataris with opportunities that suit the youth and the experienced ones as well. Qatar Career Fair is a great opportunity for the nationals to discover Total’s involvement in Qatar”. Khalid al-Khal, administration and human resources manager of Total Qatar, said: “Qatari candidates make a vital contribution to our company, particularly in supporting the youth and offering them corresponding opportunities. We establish for each newly recruited Qatari employee an Individual Development Programme with the necessary training for each specific job. It may include as well international experience, as part of the on-the-job learning, for those who consider global careers at Total.”
Qatar Airways: National carrier’s Chief Executive Officer Akbar al-Baker has lent his full support to the event by visiting the venue and meeting and discussing job opportunities with potential new recruits. Airline representatives from various departments met individuals to discuss career and scholarship opportunities with the company, which is going through a phase of continued rapid expansion. Al-Baker said: “The Career Fair is once again proving to be an ideal platform to reach out to our future employees, providing them with key information about work opportunities with our airline. We received fantastic response on the opening days of the Fair and expect an even better turnout from those looking for jobs over the course of the week.”Just a month ago the airline announced it will be offering over 100 Qatari student scholarships during the new academic year.
QNB: Qatar National Bank employees who were recruited based on their applications at last year’s Career Fair have been speaking about their success stories at this year’s edition of the Qatar Career Fair. Abdullah al-Maliki, a human resources officer, and Maha al-Dosari, a client relations officer at the bank, were among the successful candidates who were present at QNB’s stand at the Career Fair. Abdullah al-Maliki spoke about how his career path has taken him full circle and is now able to guide potential candidates at this year’s career fair, having been an applicant a year ago. He said one of the reasons QNB stood out as an employer to him was the keen interest and professionalism demonstrated by his recruiters, which he aims to emulate at this year’s fair to help applicants understand the many opportunities available at QNB Group. Their level of professionalism, he said, demonstrated the bank’s strong corporate culture and commitment to providing Qatari citizens with potential opportunities for personal and professional growth, catered to their academic degrees, aptitude and career preferences.Maha al-Dosari, a client relations officer at the bank, is another success story. Maha submitted a job application at the bank’s pavilion at last year’s Career Fair. She said the bank’s trained human capital officers helped her apply for a job that suited her qualifications and personality and soon after her personal interview, was appointed a client relations officer. After having completed her induction process, Maha began working at the bank. She spoke highly of the support and encouragement she received from the bank’s managers and officers. Maha has also been keen to develop her professional skills and has attended specialised courses at the bank’s Training and Development Centre. She admires the respect and consideration that all employees receive and the precise training provided to new employees to prepare them for various highly challenging roles across the QNB Group. Maha said QNB’s approach to supporting national candidates is one of the reasons why the bank enjoys the highest percentage of Qatari nationals in the local banking sector. She said this is supplemented by the bank’s clear appreciation of the roles women can fulfil in the banking sector, by providing them with full rights and all the incentives and support they need to access leadership positions.
ExxonMobil Qatar: The energy major is supporting the Career Fair as a diamond sponsor for the fifth consecutive year. Bart Cahir, president and general manager of ExxonMobil Qatar, explained: “Developing the capacity of Qatari nationals is an intrinsic value for our organisation. This priority is woven throughout every aspect of our business and is reflected in our Qatarisation rate of more than 45%. Furthermore, the importance of the role of our National Development Manager, Abdullatif al-Naemi, illustrates our strong commitment to increasing the number of Qatari nationals who join and grow with our team.”Abdullatif al-Naemi, National Development manager, said: “My role with ExxonMobil is an excellent fit for me. I am responsible for the career development of Qatari nationals at ExxonMobil, which includes fulfilling their training needs, overseeing their progress and growth in the organisation, as well as career planning and skills development.”He added: “Essentially, human development is the pillar that provides a foundation for everything. Developing people and creating and delivering sustainable, long-term benefits for local communities is essential to our industry and to Qatar’s sustained growth as it moves to a knowledge-based economy.”