QATAR CAREER FAIR PARTICIPATES IN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
Qatar Career Fair (QCF), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), recently took part in the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy (ICCDPP) 2015 Symposium. Held from 14 to 17 June in Iowa, USA, leading career guidance and development organisations from over 85 countries attended the conference.
By participating in the ICCDPP, the Qatar Career Fair successfully demonstrated its dedication to unlocking human potential, QF’s overarching vision. And, by providing unique, world-class education, work experience, and career opportunities to Qatar, QCF also showcased how it is helping to create a knowledge-based economy.
Commenting on the event, Mr Abdulla Ahmed al-Mansoori, Director of Qatar Career Fair, said: “The participation of QCF in the annual International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy symposium opens doors for the exchange of knowledge on career advisory and guidance. In-turn, this will allow participants to benefit from worldwide case studies, and spread awareness on what the State of Qatar is doing for leading organisations in this field.”
The symposium, which discussed the role new generations will play in leading economic prosperity for nations around the world, was held under the theme of ‘Building the Talent Pipeline and Providing Youth with a Hope for the Future’. QCF was invited to participate in the four-day forum in recognition of its role in the field, and representatives presented a Qatar-based paper before a group of leading global authorities and decision makers in education, policy making, career growth, and workforce development.
The paper highlighted the value and impact of career guidance on individual quality of life and economic growth. In addition, the presentation addressed employer engagement policies and initiatives in workforce development, as well as integrated policies combining career advancement with education and employment systems.
The paper presented by QCF shed light on five key areas in Qatar’s career development spectrum, the first of which tackled the challenges that impede the setup of an effective career advancement platform. These challenges lie in establishing an effective career development system in Qatar, and are centred on designing, delivering, and assessing quality career guidance services that can efficiently contribute to the achievement of the pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV2030), in particular, the human development pillar.
The study showed that several national strategic policy decisions pertaining to career life are being made at sector level, such as education, while others are being taken on an institutional level, as is the case in the industrial and energy sectors. The paper also positioned nationalisation as key for the development of a local workforce.
The second section addressed how new and well-established information and communications technologies (ICT) are currently being used in career development projects, policies, and research. The paper provided a holistic overview of Qatar’s use of technological advancements and solutions to support workforce preparation, placement, and development policies for young Qataris. Presenters noted that many governmental and non-governmental entities are utilising emerging technologies to develop Qatar’s national talent.
The third section focused on the value and impact of career guidance on the standards of living for individuals and on economic growth, providing a detailed description on how to evaluate the impact of policies for employment and youth development. The paper pointed to Qatar’s advanced ranking in the United Nations’ Human Development Report 2014, as well World Bank’s Economic Freedom Score 2014, reflecting the country’s investments into the development of educational, economic, and labour market systems, as well as governmental efforts into policy making relating to Qatarisation.
The fourth section discussed several ways to encourage employers to actively develop local talent, detailing the various roles, official and non-official mechanisms that see the participation or adoption of employers to recruit and develop a young Qatari workforce.
The study noted that the State of Qatar has given great attention to developing its human capital in-line with the QNV2030 and the Qatar National Strategy 2011-2016, and emphasised employers’ strategic process of streamlining their talent management practices in order to bridge the gap between the demand for, and supply of, national workforce at all levels.
Finally, the QCF presenters explained how career advancement systems are integrating and coordinating with education and employment systems, as well as with private policies. The study demonstrated that the Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-2016 incorporates sub-plans, initiatives, and projects driving the preparation, placement and development of national workforce, a strategy which involves both sector and organisational levels.
