College of the North Atlantic

The year 2013 has been a golden one for College of the North Atlantic (CNA) as it reached the 50-year mark of offering responsive, industry-driven vocational and post-secondary education in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Middle East State of Qatar recognized this expertise in post-secondary education more than 10 years ago when it chose CNA to build and administrate its first comprehensive college of technology. Since then, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) has established its place as the premier institute of applied learning in the Middle East, helping Qatar make educational history and create a new future for its people. This past academic year at CNA-Q was a celebration of the 10-year milestone with Qatar, the partnership having met and surpassed the expectations of the original contract, and culminated with a three-year extension of the project.

Qatar has risen from the sands of its Bedouin pearl-diving lineage to become the richest country on the globe per capita, holding the world’s third largest natural gas reserves and confirmed oil reserves in excess of 25 billion barrels. Rather than resting on its laurels, Qatar has been meticulously structuring and planning for this rapid growth. The Al-Thani royal family—rulers of Qatar—have created a strong and well-defined National Vision 2030 to manage massive urban development, population growth, and economic footing by investing in its people. The foundation of this plan is education.

Blueprint for Success

If education is the foundation, CNA-Q is one of the architects, training graduates in careers that will be vital in the continued growth of Qatar. CNA is not only providing internationally recognized curriculum in the areas of business, health sciences, engineering, trades, and IT, but is also establishing for the country custom training in banking, security, oil and gas, and more. Just last month, CNA-Q launched new programs including those in banking, advanced care paramedicine, dental hygiene, and emergency management, as a direct result of consultation with local government and industry. The robust partnership with Qatar Petroleum continues to flourish, and new industry partnerships with the American Society of Safety Engineers, the Gulf Organization for Research & Development, Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute, and the Qatar Olympic Committee secure CNA-Q’s position as the premier institute of applied learning for the country.

Indeed, the rapidly developing country’s successful 2022 World Cup bid will likely accelerate exceptionally large-scale infrastructure projects, such as Qatar’s metro system, light rail system, and the Qatar-Bahrain causeway. They are now completing the new Hamad International Airport, which has an annual passenger capacity of 24 million. As the infrastructure of Qatar grows, so does the necessity for a highly trained labor force.

And CNA-Q is ready.