Qatar
Qapco and CNA-Q sign agreement on vocational training
Qapco and CNA-Q sign agreement on vocational training
Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) and the College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) have signed an agreement to create a Professional Chair of Vocational Studies that will assist in building a strategic roadmap for the future of vocational education in Qatar. |
The agreement aims to improve the quality of vocational training that is delivered by CNA-Q and Qapco personnel to their students and trainees and strengthen the knowledge, skills and capacities of practitioners in this field to improve the delivery of current and future programmes.
The sponsorship of this Chair is part of Qapco’s research and development strategy that focuses on implementing new and innovative ways of developing and supporting the education sector within Qatar in line with the country’s National Vision 2030.
The scope of the Chair is wide ranging and includes a remit to conduct a review and GAP analysis of current vocational curriculum, to act as an in-house expert and champion of vocational training at CNA-Q and to engage in research that will ensure world-wide best practices are implemented within the vocational education sector in Qatar.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr Mohamed Yousef al-Mulla, Qapco vice chairman and CEO, described the new Chair as one of the most important educational research initiatives to be implemented in Qatar as the Chair Holder will review, design and implement strategies that will improve the overall quality of future graduates, equipping them with the specific competencies required today in industry.
“I must thank Dr Ken MacLeod and his team at CNA-Q for sharing our vision and passion for vocational train and for agreeing to collaborate on this new initiative that will, I am sure, provide many benefits for the College, for Qapco and for Qatar in general.
“We will recruit a leading global expert in vocational training to this post and will provide all the necessary resources and requirements that will enable this Chair to be the success we all aim and wish for.”
MacLeod, the CNA-Q president, recalled that the partnership with Qapco has been a long and successful one, and the establishment of the Professional Chair in Vocational Studies is confirmation of the shared vision of the need for, and the potential of, applied learning and vocational training.
Also present on the occasion were Qapco officials Yousef Abdulla Rebeeh (chief operations officer), Ahmad Jamali (maintenance manager), Abdulla Ahmad Naji (learning and development manager), Ahmad Yaseen al-Hammadi (public affairs and communication manager), Mejali al-Kuwari (head of Qatarisation) and CNA-Q’s Norris Eaton (vice president – academic), Shawn Brace (vice president – finance and administration) and Shirley Carroll (associate vice president – learner services). Other special guests included members of the CNA-Q Joint Oversight Board, Ann Marie Vaughan (president, CNA), Leona Webb, Cheryl Stagg and Troy Mitchell, as well as Qatar members Dr Khalid Mohamed al-Horr (director of the Higher Education Institute, Supreme Education Council) and Dr Abdullatif al-Khal (director of Medical Education, Hamad Medical Corporation).