Career fair provides new opportunities for youths The Qatar Career Fair 2011 opened at the Qatar International Exhibition Centre yesterday, offering the country’s youths new opportunities for their professional development. HH the Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al -Thani patronised the opening ceremony. Being held under the slogan “Write the next chapter in the success of Qatar”, the five-day event is organised by the Emiri Diwan, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar University and the Ministry of Labour. The opening ceremony was attended by HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Emiri Diwan Chairman Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah and a number of ministers. HH the Heir Apparent toured the fair where he was briefed about the participants’ employment plans. He also went around a photo exhibition, held on the sidelines of the fair. The exhibition includes a series of activities, events and workshops in addition to morning and evening programmes and contests. Up to 130 government departments and private companies are taking part in the fair which provides opportunities for youths to make contacts and learn about governmental agencies and private sector institutions. It presents a number of programmes and activities that contribute to building career awareness and culture as well as help hone the skills of Qatari youth for entering the professional life. The fair also contributes to supporting the country’s employers with the implementation of human resources projects as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030). The exhibitors taking part in the fair are classified into five categories of diamond, pearl, gold, silver and bronze and according to four villages which are government; energy and industry; business and finance; and education, health and sports. Qatar Foundation chairman Dr Saif al-Hajri said the fair had simplified the process which could other wise take years for youths to discover private non-governmental organisations where their skills are required. “This career fair has made things easy for youth, especially those seeking immediate employments as they have the opportunity to meet with employers and check out options because everybody on Qatar’s soil is supposed to be given an opportunity for employment,” he told reporters. Dr al-Hajri called for a continuous interaction even after the fair, saying: “We need to have a system replicating the career fair in place all year round so that we can give many more people opportunities to find jobs, say between 50-60% chance of securing a job at any time of the year,”. At the Qatar Petroleum pavilion, Qatari Development Doha section head Nahed al-Kuwari said that QP provided scholarships to those interested in its study programmes. “QP offers different training and study programmes to both male and female Qataris who have successfully completed their secondary school and have met the recruitment conditions and school average,” she said. The programmes which QP sponsors students are Academic Bridge Programme, direct scholarship to pursue degrees, technician, marine, fireman and security preparation, office administration and tailor-made courses. Qatar University career counsellor Nada al-Emadi said students visiting the QU stand were being provided with information about its academic programmes.

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