Education outcome and dynamics of the Qatari labor market : a case study of the Qatar Foundation

Since Qatar has launched its first ever National Vision 2030, it made the necessary efforts to make sure that resources are in place and available to achieve this ambitious vision. Qatar is going through major transformations in several aspects. One area of transformation is the realization that it is very important to diversify the country' economy to become more reliable on what is known as a "knowledge-based economy" However, when this vision was studied, major challenges arose from the decision makers, which triggered the implementation of several tactics and initiatives to overcome these challenges. Another realization that came about was the acknowledgement that it is very critical to develop national human resources and reduce the reliance on foreign workers. In order to gradually achieve this transition, the main focus of Qatar was to revisit and improve the educational system, which is responsible for preparing a pool of qualified workers for the Oatari Labor market. Consequently, the Qatar Foundation has made several agreements with key educational institutes from around the world to open branch campuses in Qatar to support the transformation of the country toward achieving a highly skilled and equipped workforce for the Atari labor market.

This study aims to investigate whether the current educational system, particularly in the Qatar Foundation, is integrated with the requirements of the Qatari labor market. The study sheds light on the strategies of two educational institutes including (1) Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMU-Q) and (2) the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) in relation to the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030). The end result of this study is to produce methods and recommendations to policy makers that will help improve the educational policies for their institutes to be more effective for the county's overall effort to prepare a skilled and motivated workforce in Qatar.