At the recent 44th ordinary session of the Advisory Council, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al - Thani, Emir of  Qatar, reiterated that the 2011-2016 National Development Strategy has crystallised the development priorities of the Qatar National Vision 2030 to include diversifying the national economy, activating the role of the private sector, and promoting human development, especially in the fields of education, health, and environmental protection.
Focusing on education, Qatar has made major strides in transforming this sector, spearheaded by Qatar Foundation and a number of foreign universities with branches in Education City. In addition to the universities, Education City also hosts world class scientific and research companies in the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser has worked wonders for Qatari women in the field of education. As stated by US First Lady Michelle Obama during her speech at the 2015 WISE Summit “Investing for Impact: Quality Education for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth” held in Doha, the fact that two-thirds of university students in Qatar and nearly 40% of the Qatari workforce are women is no accident – it is due in large part to Her Highness transformative leadership.
Education is given ample funding by the government as Qatar looks to diversify away from oil and gas, and towards a path of knowledge, education and research to continue the country’s prosperity. Bigger allocations for education were a key highlight of Qatar’s budget for the fiscal year 2014/15 and increased spending on education is expected to rise. While it is clear that government spending on education is a priority, His Highness the Emir underlined in his address to the Advisory Council that the private sector must assume its responsibilities, take the initiative and play a leading role too.
Qatari banks and the private sector have a lot to offer in terms of promoting human development and driving education forward in Qatar. There are many examples of private sector companies partnering with tertiary education providers in Qatar, not just for the sake of supporting education generally, but also to better prepare undergraduates with the skills they need for the workplace. For example, the Commercial Bank continuously contributes and supports the chair of Banking at the College of Business and Economics, which is advancing research in the field of banking and finance and equipping Qatar University students with the education they need to succeed in the Qatari financial sector. Qatari banks offer internships too for both high school and university-level students to learn business skills to help them thrive in their future careers.
In a knowledge-based economy, education does not stop at the university level and Qatari banks must again assume their responsibilities by investing in human capital through higher education and training of their staff. Knowledge transfer from foreign professionals has traditionally formed a large component of training for Qatari nationals but we are seeing more and more structured training programmes as Qatari banks and private companies are placing increased value on education.
At the Commercial Bank, our tailored Accelerated Leadership programmes are run in conjunction with some of the world’s best universities including Cambridge University’s Judge Business School, to fast-track the career progression of our talented potential Qatari leaders.
Our experience of these education and training programmes for employees is that while requiring significant investment, they are already proving to be successful as evidenced by the number of promotions of Qatari staff in senior leadership roles.
To conclude, Qatari banks and the private sector have a social responsibility as good corporate entity to contribute to Qatar’s national development by investing in the education of their staff, both before and after they enter the workplace.

Dr Abdulaziz A al-Ghorairi is senior vice-president and chief economist, Commercial Bank