Bahrainis will be the ‘first choice of employment’

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Labour Fund Tamkeen has announced the reopening of its programmes to develop the skills of Bahrainis and make them the first choice of employment within the labour market.

This is in line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to launch the second edition of the National Employment Programme which aims to employ 25,000 citizens this year and provide 10,000 training opportunities, through three initiatives.

These initiatives include the reopening of Tamkeen’s programmes to enable Bahrainis to be the employees of choice within the private sector, in addition to supporting employers to create new job opportunities for citizens, and improving their wages.

Currently, the average wage of Bahrainis in the private sector amounts to BD763.

In particular, Tamkeen has allocated a budget of BD120 million for the next three years, from 2021 to 2023, to support the employment of Bahrainis.

The amount has been doubled compared to the budget allocated for the past five years.

It has also increased the amount and duration of the support provided for those registered at the Ministry of Labour and Social Development as well as fresh graduates.

The budget is also dedicated to developing and enhancing current and new programmes, including supporting remote and part-time work, to meet the needs of the current market, especially due to the economic repercussions caused by the pandemic on the global market.

Tamkeen chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa said the reopening of its programmes come as part of the Government’s vision for the next phase of encouraging the employment of Bahrainis, including recent graduates.

This is done through enhancing their competitiveness in the labour market and focusing on developing their skills based on the market requirements.

During a press conference, the Minister of Labour and Social Development and Chairman of the Board Directors of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), Jameel bin Muhammed Ali Humaidan, discussed the role that the Ministry and the Authority will play in cooperation with Tamkeen and the other relevant parties in executing the three initiatives of the second version of the National Employment Programme.

Humaidan stated that the launch of this programme aims to encourage employers to hire citizens during the pandemic, as this period witnessed a surge of job applications, which was made easier through online registration instead of in person.

This has also led to the increase of the numbers of job seekers, which comes with the aim of supporting employers by allowing them to create job opportunities for citizens, in addition to monitoring and evaluating the labour market.

Humaidan pointed out that LMRA will start implementing the second initiative by extending the period for announcing the vacancies in Bahrain, from two weeks to three weeks, before opening the application for recruitment to expatriate workers.

This is done to encourage employers to benefit from this programme, increase the period of advertising jobs, and give employers better opportunities to select candidates based on their needs.

As for the third initiative, Humaidan explains that LMRA will coordinate with the Ministry of Interior to tighten security measures to monitor and deport any illegal workers, to allow Bahraini citizens to be the employee of choice when employers are hiring.

The initiative seeks to address any issues within the labour market caused by this type of employment, where Humaidan pointed out that the inspectors will work to execute the seven rules recently issued by the Cabinet to regulate flexi and nonflexi employment.

The Minister called on employers and job seekers to benefit from the National Employment Programme, indicating that the Ministry will provide electronic services to facilitate the procedures, and ensure its success, and achieve its desired goal of increasing the employment of Bahraini citizens in the private sector.

Tamkeen Chief Executive Officer Dr Ebrahim Mohamed Janahi stated that the registration for the programme will open on 24 January.

Tamkeen’s support will be provided through training and wage support, in addition to offering a special programme catered towards recent graduates to boost their employment opportunities, whether it’s full-time, part-time, or an internship, preparing them to work within private sector enterprises.

Applications for the Enterprise Support Programme are scheduled to be opened next month.

It will include new changes that contribute towards meeting the requirements of the market, in addition to supporting employees with their career progression.