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"In view of the technical education's contribution to refining skills and meeting the needs of the labour market in an ever-changing world, and in light of the rapid growth of the Qatari economy and the industrial sector, work has been done on the horizontal expansion of technical education in the country.
"There are currently two technical schools within the public education schools in the State of Qatar, one for boys and the other for girls. This type of school seeks to achieve the vision of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education that technical education be a profession-oriented education according to new educational paths that serve the knowledge economy," al-Khater said.
She referred to the opening of the Qatar Technical School for Girls in the academic year 2020/2021, marking a pioneering addition to the technical and vocational education system in the country, with the aim to enhance the role of Qatari women in the development process, provide training and qualification for Qatari women technical cadres, in addition to increasing the rate of Qatarisation for women's technical jobs in all sectors.
She noted that the technical schools for boys and girls follow a set of academic subjects that correspond to the curricula of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, in addition to technical studies.
The schools offer advanced technical programmes that keep pace with the technical scientific development and its variables while taking into account the needs of the local market, with the aim of preparing specialised technical cadres who are scientifically and practically qualified and able to keep pace with changes in all sectors of the country.
The students of these schools will obtain, upon completion of the study, the specialized secondary certificate and the TAFE international certificate.
Al-Khater explained that signing the agreement with Australia's Chisholm Institute aims to implement specialised technical programs that adopt the requirements of the Australian "TAFE" (Technical And Further Education) programme in Qatar technical schools, noting that the program provides a comprehensive and balanced evaluation system that allows students to study programmes covering knowledge, science and technical skills within a flexible methodological structure that suits their capabilities.
She said that the Ministry of Education and Higher Education hopes, through the partnership agreement with the Chisholm Institute, to keep pace with the development in this field at the world level to provide a specialised cadre for the economic mobility needed for the country and the international economic variables.
The agreement focuses on practical training for students.
The training will take place in workshops that simulate work systems in different industries, using machines, systems and training equipment similar to what is currently used in work environments in the country.
The Chisholm Institute will provide schools with technical study materials, including relevant training packages, Training and Assessment Strategy (TAS) documents, teacher guides, student guides, unit plans and assessment tools required to enable schools to deliver technical courses to students.