Qatar Aeronautical College covers about 80% of the required training programs for the aviation sector in the local market of pilots, engineers, observers, air traffic monitors and airport services, the College Director General Ali Ibrahim al-Maliki said. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), al-Maliki said that the technical disciplines in the College include: engineering and aircraft maintenance, commercial aviation\", and air traffic control, meteorology and airport management services. Al-Maliki praised HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani\'\'s support for the college since its establishment, noting that the college was established under the directives of HH the Emir, who was the first to suggest the training and graduate of pilots in Qatar in 1988. Al-Maliki also praised the support of Qatar Airways and the General Authority of Civil Aviation. The number of students enrolled in the college is currently about 700 students from 40 nationalities. Qatari students represent about 60 to 65 percent. Al-Maliki expected that the number will rise to a total 900 students of different nationalities in the school year 2012. The number of females enrolled in the various disciplines of the college is about 20 percent of the total students. The college director general urged all Qatari students of secondary school graduates to join the college, which gives them the opportunity for a prominent scientific and professional future, underlining that the aviation sector, which is witnessing unprecedented growth, needs national cadres in various disciplines, especially with the imminent opening of the New Doha International Airport and the huge expansion of Qatar Airways. The college, in coordination with the Supreme Education Council, is finalizing a number of requirements for the recognition of the college certificate as a university certificate not diploma, he noted. The college certificates is approved and recognized by the European Union and the World Organization of Meteorology and international universities such as Kingston University for Engineering, he underlined. (QNA) LY