Qatar Airways Creates New Scholarship Programme for Qatari Youth

Qatar Airways has created a dedicated new National Scholarship Programme targeted at talented Qatari high school graduates.

The long-term initiative is aimed at supporting their education to develop the right set of skills required by the airline and to qualify them for senior commercial and leadership positions at Qatar Airways.

The new scholarship for Qatari nationals has a strong focus on business-centred degrees in majors such as Business Administration and Management, Marketing and Communications, Computer Science, Human Resources, Finance and Accounting, Logistics and Law.

It complements an existing scheme the airline runs in collaboration with Qatar’s Aeronautical College, which prepares Qatari students to take on various roles within the aviation industry covering areas such as engineering, passenger services, airport operations, cargo and pilots.

The Aeronautical College course has been highly successful and today the airline employs a number of Qataris, including an high percentage of national pilots and managerial level engineers.

Each year, Qatar Airways takes on 50 Qatari pilots, who are trained at the Qatar Aeronautical College, and abroad. Qatari nationals are the second highest nationality group within Qatar Airways’ pilot community. The total number of pilots within Qatar Airways currently stands at over 1,500.

Building on this success, the newly-introduced scholarship programme is yet another step taken by Qatar Airways to provide Qataris with support for educational success and enhanced career prospects within the national airline.

It is also a strategic business initiative in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, which highlights the importance of investing in the country’s human development in order for Qatar to become an advanced, knowledge-based and diversified economy. With this national vision in mind, the airline plans to grant up to 50 Qatari students with scholarships this year and increasing the numbers each year thereafter.

Commenting on the latest initiative, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, said, “Recruiting Qatari talent is a priority at Qatar Airways. Employing and developing local talent is part of our corporate culture and we are committed to invest in young Qataris with potential as they will be key for Qatar Airways’ long-term success ... With the introduction of our national scholarship programme specifically designed for Qataris, we hope to spark interest and enthusiasm among talented nationals to work for Qatar Airways and to grow the number of employed local staff across all areas of our business.”

The Qatar Airways National Scholarship Programme will mark its official debut on 12 June 2011 at the Oryx Rotana Hotel in Doha, where Dr. Kholode Al-Obaidli, recently appointed to head up the scheme, will brief students, parents and scholars on its objectives, admission requirements, selection process and the scholarship benefits.

The event is open to Qatari grade 12 students, their parents, as well as Deans, Principals and Career Counsellors of local schools and universities.

Fuelled by its rapid expansion, Qatar Airways is forging ahead with an aggressive recruitment drive and plans to take on an additional 3,500 staff annually over a three-year period across the group. With 19,000 employees currently working with the Qatar Airways Group of companies, the increase represents a 50% addition to the head count by 2014.

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