A group of Qatari employees has joined the first workshop of two year development programme that Maersk Oil Qatar has launched as part of its new Qatarisation Strategy. The Qatari Development Programme provides employees in the early stages of their career with structured support through workshop modules and action learning sessions.
The programme is designed to complement skills learnt at university and focusses on the attributes of successful managers - with sessions covering time and people management, group dynamics, strategic planning and financial management.
Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, Maersk Oil Qatar’s Deputy Managing Director, said: “We have doubled the number of Qataris at Maersk Oil in the past five years and seen a 23 percent increase in those with Bachelor degrees but the Qatari Development Programme, along with our Find Your Place recruitment campaign and more broadly our new Qatarization Strategy, are signs that we are committed to doing even better. As Qatar’s largest offshore oil operator of one of the most complex fields in the world we want the best and the brightest talent. We are committed to attracting, retaining and developing more Qataris and also to quadrupling the number of Qataris in leadership positions by 2017.”
Joanna Rawbone, Director of Scintillo — a specialist learning and development company from the UK — is assisting Maersk Oil Qatar with the Qatari Development Programme.
Sheikh Jassim Al Thani, Maersk Oil Qatar’s Head of Qatarization, said: ‘Our exhaustive study showed that attrition was at its highest among Qataris during the first two years of employment. By providing more support and assistance over that time through the Qatari Development Programme we hope that our employees will gain skills that allow them to develop into future leaders - which will benefit our business and ultimately contribute to Qatar’s future success. A two-year programme is a large investment by Maersk Oil in young Qataris.”
The Peninsula
