QAPCO Employees Participate in New University Program for Working Adults
13 June 2012
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To further enhance collaboration between Industry and Academia, QAPCO has fully supported and participated in a new Community Education Program recently launched by Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), to prepare industry professionals to pursue university degrees mid-career.
The program comes in response to a demonstrated need for this service in the local Community, as many mid-level managers without University degrees are being encouraged to start studying again to pursue their degrees full-time. Texas A&M is offering these individuals an intensive course to help them improve their chance of acceptance in University-level Engineering programs and prepare to succeed in those programs if accepted. The course is divided into two phases: improving ACT/IELTS scores in phase one, and building University readiness in phase two.
QAPCO employees are participating in the inaugural course, which runs through to June 2012 with Khalifa Ali Ismail, one of our Cost Control Specialists and course participant stating, “I’ve been waiting for a program like this for years. The position I will take when I graduate is open now for me, but they are waiting for me to finish a University degree to fill it.” His colleague Saleh Yaslam A Kaladi, shift leader at QAPCO and also course participant, added that pursuing a University degree will not only allow them promotions in the workplace, but also provide the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their jobs. “We have been working for around 15 years in QAPCO, so we have experience,” explains Saleh. “But we should also have more education. We can solve some problems through experience, but there are also details in our jobs that we cannot know through only experience.
Liticia Salter, Director of the University’s Office of Academic Supplemental Instruction Services (OASIS) and course organizer, stated ““It is exciting to see companies encouraging their valuable employees to go back to University and earn degrees so that they can progress in their careers. Up until now, the emphasis in Qatar has been on moving students of traditional ages, 18 to 21 years, into higher education institutions. However, we are beginning to realize that some Qatari professionals are also recognizing the need for a degree in higher education.
Todd Kent, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at Texas A&M, said the university is proud to partner with local companies and organizations, such as QAPCO, in developing their human capital through this new initiative. Texas A&M at Qatar plans to announce the dates for the fall 2012 community education program in the near future.
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