Australian Ambassador Neil Hawkins hosted a reception on Sunday night for an 11-member delegation from the State of Queensland at his residence inside the Diplomatic Quarter (DQ). Queensland is one of Australia’s seven states.

Hawkins thanked the delegation for their efforts to reach out to Saudi educators and students as well as the Saudis who attended the reception.

The delegation included representatives from higher education, vocational training, and different sectors such as the railway industry.

Donna H. Massie, head of the delegation, expressed appreciation for the opportunity to visit the Kingdom and “showcase Queensland’s capability in higher education and vocational training.”

“The State of Queensland is pleased that at present, there are 367 Saudi nationals studying in its various universities and colleges. But it could absorb more to study in its various educational and vocational centers in addition to the 3,600 Saudi students currently studying in Australia,” she said.

Janelle Chapman, director of Tertiary and Further Education in Queensland (TAFE Queensland), added that by studying in Queensland, Saudi students could choose from 300 different programs. TAFE Queensland is owned and operated by the government and has been offering training courses for the past 130 years.

“It’s also the largest provider of practical, relevant and quality training in Queensland. The training meets the vocational and business needs of individuals, employers and the community,” she said.

Chapman added that students could select courses leading to a certificate level to post-graduate qualifications within vocational programs.

“The benefit of coming to study in Queensland is that our universities have high-quality educational programs in accordance with industry standards, resulting in students having job-ready skills,” she added.

Meanwhile, Peter Little, deputy chancellor of Queensland University of Technology (QUT), said that QUT, which is located in Brisbane, is the fastest growing research university in Australia and in the past six years has invested more than half $500 million in infrastructure.

“Its research is characterized by quality, international partnerships and practical outcomes. QUT offers a supportive research community and world-class facilities, including a $230 million science and engineering center,” he said.

He added that QUT is the only Australian university with two full service inter-city campuses, adding, “Its real focus is academic work complemented with projects for real companies that replicate the work students will undertake in their careers.

Ahmed Sokarno, CEO of Vocational Education, Training and Employment Australia (VETEA), added that VETEA specializes in delivering nationally accredited training together with customized workplace training that meets specific business needs.

“VETEA is supported by seven subsidiary organizations to achieve successful training and employment outcomes. It’s also a non-profit organization recognized locally and internationally for the quality of its training and employment programs,” he said.

Paul L. Daily, CEO of Rail Skills Australasia Limited (RSA), added that his company offers a workforce and training solutions in the rail industry.

“Since Saudi Arabia has the biggest rail project in the world at the moment, we talked to local officials on how to develop the skills of the Kingdom in the rail industry,” he added.

“We have also talked to them on rail building and on how to operate the trains,” he said.

He explained that RSA is a non-profit organization in the field of consultancy and provides workforce development, training facilitation and project management across the rail industry.

“RSA works with rail companies on all aspects of vocational education and training, higher education, specialized rail skills development initiatives, industry attraction and retention strategies and whole-of-industry workforce planning,” he said.

Saudis present on the occasion expressed their pleasure at having attended the reception to meet the delegation and their experience studying in Australia.

Abdullah Al-Nasser, a business development manager at the Institute of Project Management, said that he did learn much and enjoyed studying in Australia, adding that he completed his bachelor’s degree from Carlton University and his MBA at Utas University in Tasmania.

Other Saudis who finished their studies in Australia included Nasser Al-Shaikh (QUT); Mohammed Al-Gesayer (QUT), Abdullah bin Aoun (Macquarie University in Sydney), and Mohammed Al-Harbi (Macquarie University), among others.