Female participants have occupied an impressive “70%” of the training seats allocated to Qatari nationals last year by the Qatar Digital Academy (QDA), which has played a crucial role in advancing women’s leadership in the country’s digital sector.In its 2024 annual report, the QDA stated that Qatari women demonstrated strong dedication by filling “1,150” of the total training seats available to nationals. This, the report further stated, underlines the academy’s commitment to empowering women in technology, positioning the Middle East as a global leader in digital inclusion.According to the report, this significant female participation has contributed substantially to the region’s digital transformation efforts, reflecting the country’s progressive approach to building an inclusive digital workforce in alignment with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Digital Agenda 2030.The report noted that the academy has implemented a comprehensive evaluation framework to ensure training effectiveness, measuring key areas, including instructor expertise, virtual training delivery, training materials quality, learning effectiveness, return on investment, and learning environment.The annual report also revealed that participant satisfaction ratings have been exceptionally high across all metrics, with instructor evaluation scoring “94.21%”, course organisation achieving “91.69%”, and achievement of course objectives reaching “91.14%”.Training materials and content scored “90.21%”, while training delivery methodology achieved “89.90%”, resulting in an overall satisfaction score of “91.43%”.Meanwhile, the report stated that the academy’s success aligns with the sixth pillar of the Digital Agenda 2030, which aims to empower society to drive digital transformation and promote sustainable development.“At the core of QDA’s mission is empowering individuals and organisations, focusing on developing digital skills and nurturing local talent to ensure a workforce that is future-ready for the digital economy’s demands.“In 2024, QDA expanded its training programmes to include all workforce segments, including non-ICT professionals, contributing to enhanced digital proficiency across various sectors,” the report stated.It further explained: “This expansion aligns with the Digital Agenda’s ambitious goal of creating 26,000 new job opportunities by 2030 and increasing the percentage of the workforce employed in ICT to 10%, focusing on developing advanced digital skills and increasing the proportion of highly skilled workers,” the report stated.In the report, Duha al-Buhendi, director of the Digital Society and Digital Competencies Department at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), stressed that the academy’s decision to include non-ICT government employees has resulted in remarkable growth, with training programmes increasing by “94%” and awarded certifications rising by “150%.”“The QDA’s strategy focuses on empowering non-ICT employees with essential skills, such as cybersecurity, privacy management, and modern digital applications like artificial intelligence (Al), and cloud computing, enhancing their efficiency and transforming them into a more capable and future-ready workforce,” the report also stated.During the Web Summit Qatar held in February this year, al-Buhendi and Alex Dai, executive vice president at Huawei Gulf North, signed a partnership initiative to provide government employees with educational opportunities in crucial digital fields, including cloud computing, information technology, IoT, and other emerging digital technologies.“Under the terms of the partnership initiative, Huawei will provide digital training courses to government employees, granting them access to the Huawei Talent Platform. Employees will be able to create their own accounts and enrol in a diverse range of training programs, offering a flexible learning experience tailored to their professional needs and schedules,” the MCIT website stated.