diff --git a/mq-advanced-server-rhel/install-mq-rhel.sh b/mq-advanced-server-rhel/install-mq-rhel.sh
index 4bf7472..6cd5967 100755
--- a/mq-advanced-server-rhel/install-mq-rhel.sh
+++ b/mq-advanced-server-rhel/install-mq-rhel.sh
@@ -59,6 +59,15 @@ buildah run $ctr -- /opt/mqm/bin/setmqinst -p /opt/mqm -i
 mkdir -p $scratchmnt/run/runmqserver
 chown 888:888 $scratchmnt/run/runmqserver
 
+# Remove the directory structure under /var/mqm which was created by the installer
+rm -rf $scratchmnt/var/mqm
+
+# Create the mount point for volumes
+mkdir -p $scratchmnt/mnt/mqm
+
+# Create a symlink for /var/mqm -> /mnt/mqm/data
+buildah run $ctr -- ln -s /mnt/mqm/data /var/mqm
+
 # Optional: Set these values for the IBM Cloud Vulnerability Report
 sed -i 's/PASS_MAX_DAYS\t99999/PASS_MAX_DAYS\t90/' $scratchmnt/etc/login.defs
 sed -i 's/PASS_MIN_DAYS\t0/PASS_MIN_DAYS\t1/' $scratchmnt/etc/login.defs
diff --git a/mq-advanced-server-rhel/mq-buildah.sh b/mq-advanced-server-rhel/mq-buildah.sh
index 8f6a75c..281f463 100755
--- a/mq-advanced-server-rhel/mq-buildah.sh
+++ b/mq-advanced-server-rhel/mq-buildah.sh
@@ -69,9 +69,6 @@ rm -rf ${mnt_mq}/var/cache/yum/*
 # Install MQ server packages into the MQ builder image
 ./mq-advanced-server-rhel/install-mq-rhel.sh ${ctr_mq} "${mnt_mq}" "${archive}" "${packages}"
 
-# Remove the directory structure under /var/mqm which was created by the installer
-rm -rf ${mnt_mq}/var/mqm
-
 # Create the directory for MQ configuration files
 mkdir -p ${mnt_mq}/etc/mqm
 chown 888:888 ${mnt_mq}/etc/mqm