Dec 20, 2016
QCDC Concludes Professional Career Counselor Programme
A group of attendees on the last day of the ‘Professional Career Counselor’ programme.
Qatar Career Development Center (QCDC) has concluded its four-day Professional Career Counselor programme, which took place from 19 to 22 December 2016 at the Education City Clubhouse. The programme saw the participation of more than 50 career counsellors and educators from independent schools across Qatar.
The training programme, a joint initiative between QCDC and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and in collaboration with Bedaya Center, aims to develop the skills of the academic and professional counsellors by equipping them with the necessary skills and to provide students with professional support.
Explaining the significance of the program, Mr. Abdulla Al-Mansoori, Director of QCDC, said: “The Professional Career Counselor programme aims to equip career counsellors with the tools and resources they require in order to offer the best career counseling services to students, so that they can properly chart their academic and career paths. This is especially important since professional and educational counseling remains a relatively new field in many of Qatar’s independent and private schools. In addition to that, many counsellors lack the requisite qualifications and experience that enables them to effectively deliver their services, which further highlights the importance of such a programme.”
“This programme provides an opportunity for a comprehensive counselling development in the State of Qatar. Besides offering an advanced training for counsellors, it underscores the principles of career guidance while providing participants with the strategies and resources they need to offer career counseling services and effectively guide students toward planning their academic and professional careers. As such, it complements the central efforts of QCDC in this field,” he added.
Mrs. Noor Al-Maadheed, Head of Academic Counseling, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, said: “Both HE Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Wahid Al-Hammadi, Minister of Education and Higher Education, and Mrs. Fawziya Al-Khater, Appointed Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Affairs, pay great attention to the Ministry’s initiative to improve academic counseling for secondary education. The initiative provides a variety of learning opportunities, which enable students to build their capacities in order to effectively contribute to the workforce in Qatar and society as a whole.”
“Our goals can only be achieved by raising career counseling awareness among students and across all social sectors. Academic counsellors play a major role in coordinating and managing the process of academic and career counseling with effectiveness and competence. We value our partnership and collaboration with QCDC and Bedaya Center and appreciate their role in educating students in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030,” Al-Maadheed concluded.
Ms Ola Abdin, Career Development Manager at Bedaya Center, noted how the Professional Career Counselor programme “aims to train a new generation of counsellors who are able to utilise their talents and potential in a way that benefits the future of secondary school students. The advanced workshops on offer enable counsellors to understand the available tools and evaluation methods that are geared towards a fruitful interaction with students during this crucial period of their academic paths. The programme seeks to demonstrate the importance of understanding the required skills in the Qatari labour market, as well as university and workplace acceptance procedures and the necessary requirements for each profession.”
As part of an introductory session on career counseling, the participating counsellors were introduced to the theoretical foundations of career counseling, as well as the nature and significance of that line of career guidance. Participants were also exposed to the basic skills of career counseling, which include the ability to think clearly, approach problems objectively, and arrive at innovative solutions, in addition to teamwork, effective communication, and critical thinking. Then counsellors were also encouraged to differentiate their students and understand and evaluate their personal identities, in order to build their confidence and self-esteem. Finally, the programme highlighted the significance of parental guidance in children choosing a suitable career path.
The programme was delivered by experts from the partnering entities: Mr Abdulla Al-Mansoori, QCDC Director, and Dr Mohamed Abul-Ola, Integral Training and Development General Manager from QCDC’s side, and Mr Fady Allaham, Educational Consultant at the Department of Educational Supervision at the Ministry of Education from the Ministry’s side. As well as Dr Abdel Reheim Alhorr, an international trainer specialised in human skills development,accredited by the Society of Business Practitioners in the United Kingdom, who attended the programme on behalf of Bedaya Center.
The programme concluded by presenting the participating counsellors with participation certificates courtesy of QCDC and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
