Qatar's Energy and Industry Ministry Holds 16th Annual Qatarization Meeting

Doha, May 16 (QNA) - The Ministry of Energy and Industry held the 16th annual Qatarization review meeting of the energy and industry sector under the chairmanship of HE Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada. HE Dr. Al Sada delivered the keynote address during the event, in which he pointed out that despite the challenges facing the sector, the participating companies still strongly invested in human capital. "We will utilize these challenges to become a stronger knowledge-based economy, resulting in long-term benefits for the country. The competition for young Qataris is fierce between different sectors and we will do our utmost in attracting, developing, and retaining young Qataris. These challenges have not hindered the energy and industry sector's Qatari workforce to continue growing," HE Dr. Al Sada said. In addition, HE the minister emphasized the importance of the vocational path, as it is the backbone of the industry. He encouraged those present to do more to further expand efforts to attract and retain Qatari technicians and increase their intake into the industry because it is seen as a key factor to successful Qatarization in the sector. As he stressed the importance of technical education, HE Dr. Al Sada emphasized the need to build strong bonds between educational institutions and the companies in the sector to ensure that the educational requirements of the companies are met. This has already resulted in many companies signing memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with educational institutions to assist in research and to contribute in evaluating the curriculum of educational institutions. HE also expressed his pleasure to see the tremendous efforts from companies to educate young high school and university students regarding the range of career opportunities in the sector. As part of the event, a high-level review of Qatarization in the sector was presented by three young Qataris, followed by an executive statistical report regarding Qatarization in the sector. The meeting also featured the sector's eighth annual Qatarization awards ceremony, during which HE Dr. Al Sada, accompanied by Qatar Petroleum President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, honored companies that exhibited Qatarization excellence. The recipients of the awards were Qatar Petrochemical Company Ltd (QAPCO) for support and liaison with the education sector, Maersk Oil Qatar for supporting Qatarization, Bunduq Company Limited for supporting training and development, Dolphin Energy Limited for supporting student sponsorships, and Qatar General Electricity and water Corporation (Kahramaa) for best Qatarization progress. Annual Qatarization certificates were also presented to Qatar Fertilizer company (QAFCO) for support and liaison with the education sector, Qatar Fuel Company (Woqood) for supporting Qatarization, Total E and P Qatar for supporting training and development, and ExxonMobile Qatar Inc. for supporting student sponsorships. The highlight of the event was honoring Abubakr Al Saiari, the former chairman of the strategic Qatarization committee, who served for 42 years at Qatar Petroleum with continuous dedication and outstanding commitment to Qatarization in the energy and industry sector, and 15 years at the helm of the committee. In support of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2016-2020, attendees listened to presentations highlighting the energy and industry sector's progress in managing its Qatari human capital strategies Senior executives and representatives from the 37 participating companies in the sector's strategic Qatarization plan attended the event as well as senior executives from Qatar's education community. (END)