Earlier this week, Qatar Shell hosted a Qatarisation Excellence Awards ceremony to celebrate the achievements of Qatari employees who have demonstrated outstanding performance and a commitment to professional growth.

Leaders who support the growth of local talent across the company were also recognised for their dedication to develop Qatar’s future leaders and for helping Shell realise its aspiration to become the employer of choice for Qatari nationals, the company has said in a statement.

Sheikh Thani al-Thani, deputy managing director of Qatar Shell, said in his opening remark: “Less than 10 years ago, we started with a few Qatari members of staff and today we have more than 300 ambitious Qatari professionals in the  company. Qatarisation is a topic that is very close to my heart and I’m happy to say that Shell is a company that is committed to Qatarisation. Shell recognises the importance and value of Qatari staff towards the company’s current and future journey. As a Qatari myself, I am personally invested in Qatarisation and wish to see qualified Qataris taking up more responsibility and greater accountabilities within the company.”

Qatar Shell’s efforts to become the employer of choice are premised on a clear vision that Shell’s operations in the country are essentially led by Qataris in the future. This is demonstrated by employing and developing Qatari staff at all levels throughout the organisation and across all functions of the business, according to the statement,

This approach aligns with one of the main pillars of Qatar’s National Vision: developing human capital. Shell provides multiple approaches to learning and development, which include on-the-job coaching, mentoring, short-term international assignments, online training and internal and external courses.

During the event, Qatari employees shared their international assignment experiences and the skills they developed while on the job working at various Shell locations around the world. The main part of the event, the Qatarisation Excellence Awards ceremony, recognised employees who were nominated by their peers and managers for outstanding dedication to Qatarisation in 2013.

The awards covered 12 categories: Best Qatari Technician/Operator, Best TPP Operator/Technician, Best Qatari Employees, Best Leader Supporting Qatarisation, Best Engineering Superviser/Qatari Supporter, Best Engineering Coach, Best Process Superviser/Qatari Supporter, Best TPP Process Coach, Best Department Supporting Qatarisation, Best Qatari Leaders Supporting Qatarisation, Empowering the Future Leaders Award and, finally, the Excellence Award for sponsored students.

Last year, Qatar Shell received the “Supporting Qatarisation Award”, presented by HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry.