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The Ministry of Education and Higher Education and College of the North Atlantic (CNA) in Canada have signed a new three-year service agreement which enables the College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) to continue its role as Qatar's premier technical and vocational college.

The agreement was finalized at a formal signing ceremony at the state-of-the-art CNA-Q campus in Doha, with H.E. Dr. Mohammed Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammadi, Minister of Education and Higher Education, and the Provincial Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, in the presence of a number of senior officials from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the College of the North Atlantic in Canada and Qatar. As per the agreement, CNA will continue to provide academic and vocational programs and services for CNA-Q for three years (2019-2022) in accordance with best technical and vocational practices; as well as providing support services for information systems for the benefit of CNA-Q. In a press conference, H.E. Dr. Mohammed Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammadi, Minister of Education and Higher Education, expressed his pleasure in signing the agreement with CNA and appreciated the pioneering role that the College has played in Qatar since 2002. Today CNA-Q offers more than 30 academic technical and vocational programs to 2,600 full-time students. He added “College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) has contributed to building the national capabilities of Qatar in the technical and vocational fields, especially in the field of engineering technology, business studies, information technology and health sciences. It has also contributed to bridging the vocational skills gap in the labour market and offered many academic opportunities for students to continue their university and postgraduate studies.” H.E praised the graduates of the College who have provided the labour market with quality graduates who are now contributing to building a knowledge-based economy and making Qatar's national vision a reality. He stressed, “the development of education, technical and vocational training is one of the priorities of the Ministry, and is a top priority in its strategy for the period 2017-2022. He stressed that “the process of technical and vocational education governance is being conducted through the development of policies and programs, and a committee is being considered to enhance the integration between all technical and vocational education institutions and its programs, and plans to facilitate the bridging process to meet the requirements and needs of the labour market.” At the end of the press conference, H.E. Minister of Education and Higher Education thanked his Canadian counterparts, and the teaching and administrative bodies of the North Atlantic College for their dedication and efforts, praising Canadian-Qatari relations in the field of cultural and educational exchange."

Commenting on the renewal of the agreement, H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh al Sada, the former Minister of Energy and Industry, and Chair of CNA-Q's Board of Trustees said," I am very pleased to see the strong academic partnership between Qatar and CNA, which was strengthened by this service agreement. He added, “This partnership has successfully produced thousands of highly skilled, technically-competent graduates for Qatar's workforce who make daily contributions to the successful realization of Qatar National Vision 2030, and we are always looking forward to the continuation of this distinguished academic partnership with CNA. He said "CNA-Q has become one of the leading colleges in Qatar that offers scientific and practical expertise in a number of technical learning, applied and professional programs, making it an attractive choice for many students wishing to complete their higher education in order to enter wide Qatar’s expanding labour market.” CNA-Q President, Dr. Khalifa Al Khalifa, said "In our 17th academic year, we take great pride in the achievements of the College thus far. With the signing of this agreement, we start the next chapter, launching into new programs, building more educational capacity, and evolving with the changing needs of our students and industry stakeholders.” Dr. Khalifa added that the service agreement signed between the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and CNA will assist the College continue its work in Qatar as the academic partner CNA-Q. He said, “the College, since its establishment in 2002, has developed and increased its 30 diploma and certificate programs in the applied, technical and vocational fields. The College has graduated thousands of students who have worked to provide industries and sectors in Qatar with professionals who are ready to work.” The Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, from the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador spoke behalf of CNA at the ceremony. He said, “Our relationship has fostered a deeper cultural understanding of two peoples on an international stage, as we worked diligently together to create highly-trained, industry-ready, globally-conscious graduates. They are the future leaders, who are ready for the challenges of the new economy, who will build real world solutions, and who have been supported by a modern education system with state-of-the-art classrooms, labs and facilities. Above all, we greatly anticipate our evolving role in this collaboration, as CNA-Q builds autonomy to support an innovative education strategy that focuses on the strengths of the Qatari people.”