More than 100 recently graduated Qatari pilots and aircraft engineers have taken part in a leadership programme designed to improve their career prospects, reports the Gulf Times.
The newly qualified pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers had all recently completed Qatar Airways’ National Scholarship Programme, (QRNSP).
QRNSP offers financial support to Qataris for post-secondary education, internships and a rotation programme in the airline upon graduation.
The leadership course, which was taught in conjunction with aircraft manufacturers Airbus, included lessons on conflict management and the importance of trust and credibility in leadership.
Dr Kholode al-Obaidli, VP Nationalisation, told the Gulf Times that the course is part of the airline’s commitment to bring more Qataris into their workforce.
“In partnership with Airbus, we have delivered an exciting leadership programme for our Qatari pilots and aircraft engineers that shows our commitment to their development as individuals, as well as our commitment as a company to Qatarisation. Nationalisation is a priority for us and we wish to demonstrate this in the programmes we have developed for our Qatari employees.”
Qatar’s flag carrier has recently been subject to a boycott campaign on twitter under the hashtag #qatarairwaysfail which pointed to under-representation of Qataris in the airline’s workforce as one of its major complaints.
Qatar Airways’ expansion plans means it looks abroad for the majority of its new recruits.
Boeing recently predicted that airlines in the Middle East will need 36,100 more pilots in the next 20 years.
But the company may need to do more to recruit more Qataris into its pilot workforce. In a comment on this post, one Qatari told us why his cousin didn’t take a job at Qatar Airways.
“QR pilots’ wages aren’t worth the effort for Qataris. My cousin earns more as a traffic cop than what he was told he’d make at QR.”
Thoughts?
Credit: Photo by FrancoisRoche
