Qatargas CEO urges nationals to make best use of opportunities

He was speaking at the annual CEO Forum, organised by Qatargas over the past two days at the Sharq Village Hotel to review progress made in the field of developing the company's young national workforce and to receive their feedback on the programme so that improvements can be made where necessary.

Al Suwaidi said:

"Qatargas management is committed to doing all that we can to ensure that our people, whether nationals or expatriates, will continue to find purpose and fulfillment in sharing in the common pursuit of the Qatargas vision. We are optimistic that the Qatari young professionals will take the full responsibility of making the Company's vision come true."

He noted that the target of 50 per cent Qatarization at Qatargas by 2012 is well on track. The retention of Qatari Young Professionals is excellent as the attrition rate is below 2%. The success for low attrition is due to clear definition of work assignments and proper career development process in place. Monitoring progression of each trainee and developee and assisting in career counseling are some of the success factors, he said.

The forum, held on 8 and 10 June, was attended respectively by trainee high school graduates as well as fresh university graduates who joined Qatargas as engineers, accountants and other professionals. They were met by senior management including Chief Operating Officers, line managers, coaches, HR personnel and the National Development Team.

The event included motivational speeches by international experts and success stories shared by nationals who have undergone the development phases in Qatargas. For trainees, the success stories were presented by Ahmed Al-Fadhala and Faisal Al-Enazi, shift supervisors. For the professionals, they were presented by Mohamed Al-Khaldy, Director of Al-Khor Community and Mohammed Al-Meer, Commissioning Lead, CLP.

The CEO Forum at Qatargas represents a fine example of the commitment made by the company's senior management to its national workforce and it helps forge a strong relationship between the young professionals and their coaches.