Doha: The Bedaya Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Development, a joint initiative of Qatar Development Bank and Silatech, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar Leadership Academy (QLA), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), to strengthen and promote career guidance services in Qatar.
Bedaya provides services, training programmes and activities to help young men and women achieve career goals and develop entrepreneurial skills.
QLA fosters growth in young men, promoting excellence in academics, leadership, athletics, and character to prepare them to be leaders of tomorrow.
By preparing students to be leaders of tomorrow, QF is supporting Qatar National Vision 2030 of transforming the country into a knowledge-based economy.
Reem Al Suwaidi, General Manager, Bedaya, said: “The MoU marks a milestone in career guidance in Qatar as it aims to facilitate, guide and promote cooperation between Bedaya and QLA. It will raise awareness of the importance of career guidance and development.”
QLA will facilitate advisory sessions with young people who use Bedaya’s career guidance tools and encourage students to participate in Bedaya’s programmes and events. QLA will also include Bedaya in its events.
Bedaya will provide career guidance tools for QLA students in grades 10 and 11 and job shadowing opportunities for students who wish to explore a work environment.
Bedaya will also offer entrepreneurship and innovation workshops and advisory sessions to enable participation in its entrepreneurship programmes such as the annual Enterprise Challenge.
Brigadier General Ali Ahmed Al Kuwari, Director, QLA, said: “We are delighted to sign the MoU with Bedaya as career guidance tools, workshops and workplace experience they offer our cadets will enhance their career opportunities. The targeted group will be cadets, but teachers and other staff will be part of workshops.”
Bedaya’s achievements this year in career development include major initiatives and activities that have benefitted about 2,000 Qatari youth. Five agreements have been signed with educational institutions and corporations, and Bedaya has reached out to 39 Independent and two international schools.
Bedaya has also delivered over 25 workshops to young people and completed Independent schools’ counsellors career advice training programme in partnership with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of QF, and the Supreme Education Council to ensure young people can access career development advice at their school.
Al Suwaidi said: “We are proud of our achievements this year, which have met many of our goals. For instance, we wanted to reach 4,000 Tamheed students, some 38 Independent schools, offer job shadowing opportunities to 200 students and initiate 12 programmes for targeted audiences in education.
“We look forward to extending our outreach to more young people to help them identify their best career path.”
The MoU is for the academic year 2015-2016 and may be renewed if mutually agreed.
The Peninsula
