Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker revealed details of the enhanced scholarship programme in London at the opening of the Qatar Career Fair for UK-based Qatari students. The national airline participated in the event for the second consecutive year.

The carrier, a key sponsor of the two-day event organised and hosted by H.E. Khalid Al Mansouri, Qatar’s Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary in the UK, currently offers 35 scholarships under its year-old Qatar Airways National Scholarship Programme (QRNSP).

The creation of the QRNSP follows ongoing collaboration with the Qatar Aeronautical College since 1997 when Qatar Airways embarked on a series of programmes designed for Qatari pilots and engineers with millions of rials invested in recruiting cadets and engineering students, training them to become the best in their field.

Al Baker addressed a packed gathering of UK-based Qatari undergraduates and fellow sponsoring Qatari companies, delivering an inspirational speech encouraging young talent “to feel proud” to seek a long-term career with the national airline that has been successfully flying the flag around the world over the past 15 years.

“Less than 12 months ago, Qatar Airways announced the launch of its National Scholarship Programme, a long-term initiative to support young Qataris in their education and to develop the right set of skills for undergraduates and graduates to join the world-class airline that we are today,” said Al Baker.

“This is a mission fully in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030 to provide a solid education and career path for young Qataris. Shining young talent need to be given opportunities to flourish and we at Qatar Airways are providing these opportunities.

“Qatar Airways launched its Scholarship programme with 35 places on offer. I am pleased to say that all 35 places were quickly filled, almost half by Qataris studying in renowned UK educational institutions, amid tough competition as we chose young recruits who demonstrated willingness, drive, ability and ambition to want to shine in the corporate world.

“I am delighted to announce today that we are now tripling our scholarship numbers to over 100 seats for the next academic year, demonstrating the level of deep commitment we at Qatar Airways have towards our future employees. We will continue to be on the lookout for young Qatari talent and nurture them to become future aviation professionals,” added Al Baker.

“No other company in Qatar will offer students a variety of majors like we have at Qatar Airways,” he said, stressing there were 19 different disciplines available within the airline and its subsidiaries for students looking to be part of such a vast, diverse organisation that has now spread its wings to over 100 destinations across six Continents and voted Best Airline in the World.

These options include working in human resources, product development, commercial, revenue management, information technology, corporate planning and both the current and new Doha International Airport.

Qatar Airways had a dedicated exhibition stand at the Career Fair where students interacted with airline staff from the Qatar Airways National Scholarship Programme in Doha and the carrier’s UK office on entrance requirements and on-job experience.

Student interviews were also conducted for the second round of scholarships covering the 2012/2013 academic year.

Students on Qatar Airways’ current scholarship programme were on hand to provide testimonials to those looking to develop a career with the airline.

Al Baker had an opportunity to meet many of the UK-based students on the airline’s existing scholarship programme, personally offering them guidance and tips on becoming successful individuals and outlining how a career in aviation can be both rewarding and exciting.

Qatar Airways National Scholarship Programme Senior Manager Dr Kholode Al-Obaidli delivered a motivational presentation encouraging the young students to consider being part of the airline’s ongoing success story.

“My team and I were extremely delighted at the high level of enthusiasm shown by the students keen to join such a multi-national and multi-cultural company that we are today, and an organisation that continues to enjoy dramatic, unprecedented aggressive growth,” she said.

“Students should take home the inspirational words of our Chief Executive Officer and all leading companies that took part in the Career Fair that whatever we are doing is for the future of our young people.”

As part of its ongoing expansion programme, Qatar Airways launched flights to Tbilisi (Georgia) via Baku (Azerbaijan) on February 1. The carrier will launch flights to a further seven destinations this year – Kigali (Rwanda) from March 21; Zagreb (Croatia) from May 9; Perth (Australia) from July 3; with dates yet to be announced for other new routes – Mombasa (Kenya), Zanzibar (Tanzania), Helsinki (Finland), and Gassim (Saudi Arabia).