Project professionals receive APM qualifications at TAFAWOQ appreciation ceremony
Oct 01, 2019
A total of 115 project professionals from various major companies in Qatar received today their Association of Project Management qualification and Risk Level 2 qualification at a formal ceremony held at The Diplomatic Club.
Doha, Qatar: The project professionals were from a wide range of companies and organizations including QatarEnergy (QE), Qatar Shell, Qatargas, Qatar Airways and Gasal Q.S.C. The event marked their successful completion of the TAFAWOQ Essentials of Project Management and Managing Opportunity Project Risk courses, which were delivered over the last ten months.
As part of the ceremony, the project professionals were addressed by Mr. Mohamed Salem Al Marri, Executive Vice President, Projects, Engineering and Procurement Services at QE, Mr. Andrew Faulkner, Managing Director and Chairman of Qatar Shell Companies, and Mr. Bader Al Jaidah, Director of TAFAWOQ.
On this occasion Mr. Al Marri said, “Equipping our people with world-class skill-sets is at the top of our priorities. We must always maintain the highest professional standards across industries as we build and grow, which is a significant challenge due to the fast-paced environment under which we operate. Investing in our people, our most important asset, is essential for the continued development of our organisation and, ultimately, for the State of Qatar to realise the Qatar National Vision 2030.”
Mr. Faulkner stressed the importance of capacity building and knowledge transfer; ‘Human development is one of the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030, which Qatar Shell seeks to support. This is why we have launched several social investment initiatives, such as TAFAWOQ, and engaged in local partnerships to generate real and measurable impact through sharing knowledge and best practices,’ he said.
The participating professionals benefited from the world-class expertise and experience of the course trainers, who were drawn from some of the most highly-regarded project management institutes around the world, including Cranfield School of Management in the UK, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, Queensland University of Technology in Australia, and the University of Texas in the USA.
The qualification was awarded by the Association of Project Management (APM), the globally-recognised chartered body for the project profession. The TAFAWOQ programme itself has recently been reaccredited by the APM until 2022.
Nathaniel Morsoli, APM Facilitator, said, “This APM-accredited programme offers participants the opportunity to meet and share their experiences with some of the industry’s top experts, whose valuable feedback will help the participants become better project management professionals.”
The TAFAWOQ courses consisted of eight weeks of modular, remote learning, followed by one week of intensive teaching at the Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre at the Qatar Science & Technology Park. Students then prepared and sat for two days of exams.
The course participants will be able to apply what they have learned immediately in their professional lives, as the syllabus focuses principally on real-world skills and the practical application of project management theory.
About TAFAWOQ
TAFAWOQ is an elite project management centre of excellence that develops the competencies of project managers to deliver large capital investment projects in Qatar. The programme is a partnership between Qatar Shell, QatarEnergy and Hamad Bin Khalifa University and provides world-class training through virtual and in-class learning. It nurtures the development of a strong community of local project professionals, benefiting both individuals and organisations.
Since 2012, TAFAWOQ has graduated nearly 1,000 professional learners. Participants come from leading organisations in Qatar, including QatarEnergy, Qatar Gas, Qatar Airways and more.
TAFAWOQ supports the Qatar National Vision 2030 by strengthening the nation’s human capital – Qatar’s stock of knowledge, capabilities, and expertise - through project management competency development. In 2014 TAFAWOQ was honoured to win best “Corporate Social Responsibility initiative” in Qatar's energy sector at the inaugural Al Sharq CSR Awards Ceremony.
The programme was reaccredited with the Association of Project Managers (APM) – now valid until 2022. The APM is the largest professional body in Europe with 500 corporate and 18,500 individual members. The curriculum is carefully aligned with the APM to enable our learners to excel and obtain world-class qualifications and certificates.