College of the North Atlantic – Qatar (CNA-Q) yesterday held a certificate distribution ceremony for Coasts and Borders Security following the completion of a three-week training on Workplace Health and Safety. 
The event was attended by CNA-Q president Dr Salem al-Naemi, Brig Gen AbdelHakim Yehya Hzam al-Awa who represented the assistant director-general of Coasts and Borders Security, Police Training Institute (PTI) director Colonel Ali Saud al-Hanzab, CNA-Q’s School of Engineering Technology and Industrial Trades’ dean Dr Awni al-Otoom, and Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) Department manager Dr Suhaim Khalaf al-Josaiman.
The CPE Department along with the School of Engineering Technology and Industrial Trades tailored the plan, courses and curriculum based on the request received by the PTI in order to meet the Coasts and Borders Security’s needs. The programme provided coast guards with theoretical knowledge and applied skills required to identify hazards and respond to emergencies in a professional manner. Participants gained practical experience in determining appropriate safety precautions that eliminate or minimise the risk of personal injury, equipment damage and promoting safe work practices.
In his speech Brig Gen al-Awa said workplace health and safety are essential components of the daily work routines of Coasts and Borders Security. He thanked all the entities involved and described the programme as a top applied training for the national workforce”.
Dr al-Naemi, said: “It was a pleasure to collaborate with the Ministry of Interior and Coasts and Borders Security on this particular initiative. We appreciate the trust that was put in our College to deliver this training. Learning keeps us all relevant in our constantly changing world; and as an applied College, our commitment does not end at graduation. We are keen on offering courses, trainings and programmes that provide opportunities for individuals, governmental and private entities’ workforce to learn new applied skills, improve and grow. This training is one of many programmes due to be held in collaboration with the Police Training Institute and our CPE department.”
Dr Hamad Ali Abu Shama, chief Professor – department of maritime sciences at the Maritime Training Institution, said: “We value the partnership with College of the North Atlantic – Qatar, the leading institution in applied education, and we look forward to seeing it transform into a university very soon. The workplace health and safety training is an important step towards more scientific collaboration between different national institutions. The programme is a live example of the great outcome that can be achieved through  co-ordination and the deep understanding of complementarity of roles. We hope that this partnership will further develop to optimise talent in Coasts and Borders Security’s workplace.”
Dr al-Otoom said: “Understanding the Directorates’ needs formed the base of our collaboration with the Police Training Institute as well as Coasts and Borders’ Security. We trained the coast guards on modern technologies that contribute to the continuity and development of their operations; the participants were also able to benefit from the world class technical capabilities available in the College. Furthermore, we are currently developing many curricula and courses that will be offered to the workforce at Coasts and Borders’ Security as well as to the workforce in many other vital sectors.”
Dr al-Josaiman, said: “Our role was to design in collaboration with the School of Engineering Technology and Industrial Trades a training programme that can be quickly implemented and would benefit the participants and the organisation in the three-week time. We provided the coast guards with the skills, information and ability to apply their practical knowledge to the workplace. We believe the sessions were very beneficial to the participants especially that they followed on-the-job training as well. We wish them all the best and we look forward to new collaboration opportunities.”