5,000 Bahrainis employed and 1,874 trained so far under National Employment Program 2.0

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

More than 5,000 Bahraini citizens have been employed so far in the private sector since the launch of the National Employment Program’s second edition in January.

A total of 1,874 Bahrainis was provided training opportunities to equip them with the professional skills that are compatible with the labour market’s requirements.

This was confirmed by Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel bin Muhammad Ali Humaidan, also chairman of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) Board of Directors.

As of mid-March, the number of vacancies registered in the Ministry’s vacancy bank reached 5,097. Citizens are urged to register their applications with the vacancy bank to improve their chances of being the top choice for employment.

Employers and companies can register job vacancies with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development to recruit job seekers enrolled in the program.

Humaidan is confident the pace of employment and training will accelerate in the coming months after the integration of the mechanisms and technical and administrative preparations for the program have been strengthened and ensured.

The program was launched in implementation of the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to create 25,000 jobs this year and provide 10,000 training opportunities annually.

The program is based on three main initiatives, namely the allocation of a budget of BD120 million from the Labour Fund ‘Tamkeen’ for three years (2021- 2023), double of what has been allocated during the past five years, to support the employment of Bahrainis through the wage support program, while increasing the amount and duration of support extended to those registered with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development and new entrants into the labour market.

The second initiative includes extending the period of announcing vacancies before the recruitment of non-Bahraini workers from two to three weeks.

The third initiative is based on tightening security measures regarding irregular workers, in addition to continuing the initiatives set out in the program’s first version.

The program comes as part of the Government’s vision for the next phase of encouraging the employment of Bahrainis, including recent graduates.

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