Mashreq Qatar engages next-generation financial gurus

Doha, Qatar May 13^th 2012:

Mashreq Qatar, a leading financial institution in the region, has engaged with students at the Commercial Independent Secondary School through a series of career development programmes. The Independent Business Secondary School for boys was established in 2010 under Qatar Central Bank's sponsorship, with Mashreq Qatar as one of the contributors to its establishment and development.

This latest initiative at the school is running under the umbrella of the Qatar Central Bank and follows a generous contribution by Mashreq Qatar to the school last year, which reaffirms Mashreq Qatar's commitment towards the human development pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030.

The programme, which was conducted over a period of three weeks, included orientation briefings on Mashreq Qatar's departments including human resources, Mashreq Learning Systems, operations, corporate & investment banking, retail banking and compliance, amongst others. Students were also provided opportunities to study the day-to-day functioning of a full-service bank through job-observation programmes enabling them to develop their understanding of key banking concepts. High school students were also briefed about all the available career opportunities in Mashreq Qatar.

Ayesha al Kuwari, Human Resources Manager at Mashreq Qatar commented, "Mashreq Qatar has been very successful in it's Qatarization efforts, which is driven by the comprehensive approach that we employ to develop Qatari talent. Working with local schools and exposing Qatari students to the idea of working in a bank is just one of many initiatives where we work to ensure that students gain a competitive edge and improve their confidence and skill-sets. Other Qatarization by Mashreq include recruiting the best talent and appointing them at senior positions in the bank, training Qataris on banking concepts at our state of the art learning facility, providing Qatari students university sponsorship, internship programs, job opportunities, and much more. "

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About Mashreq:
Mashreq is one of the UAE's leading financial institutions and the region. Founded in 1967 as Bank of Oman, the bank has played a pioneering role in the industry, particularly in retail banking. Among its many firsts, it was the first to launch such products as travelers' cheques, credit cards and ATMs.

Mashreq has received numerous international awards such as the Best Bank in the UAE in 2008 from Euro money and various awards particularly for quality management. According to independent research it has more ISO certifications than any bank in the region by a wide margin. It's most recent acknowledgement was Best Consumer Internet Bank in Qatar, Best Consumer Internet Bank regionally by Global Finance Awards 2009 and Best Emerging Market Banks Middle East by Global Finance Awards 2010.

As a leading financial Institution in Qatar, Mashreq aims to be world class in every facet of its business; including its social responsibility to the community it serves. Towards this goal the bank pays particular attention to recruiting, training, developing and retaining Qatari National employees.

For further information, please contact:
Huda Ismail
Mashreq
+9714 608 3629
E-mail: hudai@mashreq.com

Anand George Zachariah
Hill+Knowlton Strategies Qatar
Tel: +974 4441 4781
E-mail: anandgeorge.zachariah@hkstrategies.com