Qatar’s Largest Gathering of Career Counselors Upskills 200 Guidance Professionals at Career Counselors Hub 2026
Participants complete two-day program featuring more than 15 training workshops
Doha, Qatar – 2 September 2026 – Qatar Career Development Center (QCDC), founded by Qatar Foundation (QF), concluded “Career Counselors Hub 2026,” held on 1–2 September in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), U.S. Embassy Doha, and Qatar Foundation Higher Education, with the participation of more than 200 academic and career guidance professionals from schools, educational institutions, and organizations across Qatar.
The Hub featured 15 training sessions, workshops, and discussions in Arabic and English, through which participants gained practical knowledge and tools to strengthen their ability to guide students amid increasingly diverse academic pathways, changing skills requirements, and the rapid evolution of today’s labor market.
Commenting on the wider impact of investing in practitioners, Al-Kharji said: “The impact of developing one career counselor reaches every student they support. Our investment through the Hub is therefore an investment in the quality of the decisions young people are able to make about their education and future careers.”
“Over these two days, we have focused on giving counselors the expertise they need in their work. Strengthening this community of practitioners helps us build more consistent and effective guidance across the education system and better prepare young people for their transition into higher education and the labor market,” he added.
In the same context, Maha Zayed Qaqaa Alruwaili, Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Affairs at MoEHE, stated: “This Hub represents an important professional platform that enables counselors to learn from experts, stay abreast of the latest practices and trends, exchange experiences, and build professional partnerships. It also gives them the opportunity to engage with universities and educational institutions and learn about the opportunities and pathways available, enabling them to provide students and their parents with accurate and reliable information.”
She added: “There is no doubt that the quality of academic and career guidance begins with the quality of counselor preparation and their continuous development. Investing in the development of counselors is a direct investment in students and in their ability to make more informed educational and career decisions, and to transition successfully into higher education and professional life. In this context, I would like to emphasize the Ministry of Education and Higher Education’s pivotal role in supporting counselors’ professional development, given their position as key partners in preparing students for the future and strengthening their readiness for the requirements of education and the labor market.”
For his part, Dr. Francisco Marmolejo, President of Higher Education at QF, said: “By empowering career counselors, we empower the ‘enablers of dreams’ who help students recognize their potential, navigate an evolving world, and confidently shape their own futures.”
The opening day of the Hub featured a debate titled “Implementing Career Guidance at All Educational Levels,” bringing together a group of academic counselors from schools across Qatar. The discussion explored the importance of greater integration and continuity in the guidance services provided to students throughout their educational journey.
Across the two-day program, participants explored topics directly relevant to counselors’ day-to-day practice, including university admissions, scholarship pathways, future labor-market skills, international study opportunities, artificial intelligence and its role in student guidance, career readiness, and professional development. Participants also engaged directly with specialists and experts from the education sector, government entities, career development organizations, and international institutions, helping them translate acquired knowledge into more practical and effective guidance for students.
The Hub’s accompanying networking exhibition also enabled participants to meet representatives from more than 30 universities, educational and training institutions from the public and private sectors, and learn directly about their programs, academic pathways, services, and available opportunities. This, in turn, equips counselors with relevant information they can share with students in their schools and institutions.
The Hub also reflected the complementary expertise of its partners. MoEHE contributed its expertise in academic and career guidance and scholarship pathways; Qatar Foundation Higher Education provided counselors with deeper insight into the opportunities and pathways available across Education City universities; while U.S. Embassy Doha contributed its expertise in opportunities for study in the United States. This collaboration, strengthened by QCDC, has helped build a professional network whose impact extends beyond the Hub itself by supporting continued knowledge exchange, stronger professional practice, and higher-quality career guidance across Qatar.
This sustained investment in developing the capabilities of career guidance professionals forms part of QCDC and its partners’ efforts to support smoother student transitions between education, higher education, and the labor market, while contributing to the development of skilled, future-ready human capital in support of the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.
