Qatar Shell and Silatech Tackle Regional Youth Unemployment
Apr 06, 2014
Qatar Shell and Silatech recently hosted Itijah, an intensive leadership development programme during which 40 leaders from across MENA and Europe gathered in Doha to find ways in which to secure future youth employment.
As part of Qatar Shell’s sustained efforts to support the Qatar National Vision 2030, the four-day course, created by global not-for-profit organisation Common Purpose, was held at the Qatar Shell Research & Technology Centre (QSRTC) located at the Qatar Science and Technology Park.
Itijah, meaning ‘direction’ in Arabic, is part of a series of ventures designed to expand, enrich and energise collaboration between Arab and European nations. The participants were set a hypothetical challenge of ensuring that for every 10 million Euros invested in legacy events, such as the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, 100 business and social youth enterprise jobs would be directly generated as a result.
Welcoming the participants to the programme Rob Sherwin, General Manager of Corporate Affairs and Deputy Country Chairman at Qatar Shell, said: “Nurturing the skills of emerging Qatari leaders, and those from the wider Arab world and Europe, is an important outcome of the Itijah Venture and we are therefore proud to be playing an active role to support this. Encouraging links between these two regions is also important as the Arab world is set to witness dramatic growth in the number of young job-seekers within the next decade.”
“The Qatar National Vision 2030 places special emphasis on preparing Qatar's students to take on global challenges and become innovators and entrepreneurs of the future. It also sets out to equip Qatari youth with the skills and motivation to constructively contribute to society.
Qatar Shell’s involvement in Itijah, and many other initiatives like it, is a direct response to tackling these challenges and supporting Qatar on its journey to becoming a knowledge-based economy,” added Sherwin.
"Meanwhile, noting the importance of such joint efforts Dr Tarik M. Yousef, Chief Executive Officer of Silatech, said: "We are delighted to have partnered with Qatar Shell to host the Itijah programme, which united young leaders from across MENA and Europe in an attempt to find practical solutions to the pressing issue of job creation.”
Representing Qatar at Itijah were 11 leaders, each with a proven professional leadership track record. The other participants represented Egypt, Hungry, Germany, Libya, Jordan, Turkey, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
QSRTC continuously strives to foster collaborations with the academic community to develop local Qatari research talent and enhance scientific capabilities.
It also seeks to link budding Qatari scientists with academic experts by facilitating educational partnerships that cultivate national innovation.