It’s raining jobs in Bahrain!
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Job growth in Bahrain accelerated sharply last year, with citizens landing nearly 30,000 jobs in the private sector.
The strength in hiring, which also exceeded set targets by 150%, Labour Ministry said, occurred as the number of Bahrainis eligible for unemployment insurance also touched 29,000.
The strong job creation in the past year than previously estimated, experts said, shows that the economy has regained its momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic meltdown.
“Thanks to the cooperation of the private sector, 29,995 Bahrainis got jobs in the private sector last year,” said the latest Labour Ministry report.
This remarkable feat exceeded the target to employ 20,000 Bahrainis and train 10,000 citizens annually until 2024 as part of the recovery plan.
Labour Ministry attributes this success mostly to the online job fair launched through its website.
The fair, the Ministry said, allowed employers to pick employees of their choice from the national workforce pool while also allowing citizens to choose a position that suits their qualifications and capabilities.
Further, the platform also allowed job seekers to communicate directly with the establishments they wished to work.
The report came as the Ministry outlined its achievements for the year 2022.
Labour Ministry report further said it reaped similar success in the unemployment insurance system, training programmes, and curbing illegal employment to ensure healthy market competition.
The unemployment insurance system, the Labour Ministry said, also proved highly successful last year in supporting the Bahraini workforce in times of adversity.
The system now has over 29,000 eligible Bahrainis covered to receive compensation and aid for loosing jobs for reasons beyond their control.
Unemployment Insurance Scheme
The Unemployment Insurance Scheme (UIS), which is funded through a 3% contribution from employees, employers, and the government, offers two types of benefits: Unemployment aid and compensation.
The Unemployment aid provides a monthly payment of BHD 150 to new university graduates and BHD 120 to other first-time jobseekers for a maximum of six months.
On the other hand, the Compensation Benefit is available to unemployed individuals and provides a monthly benefit calculated at 60% of the insured salary (with a minimum of BHD 150 and a maximum of BHD 500) for up to 6 months.
Additionally, the UIS provides job-matching, career guidance, and training services to its beneficiaries. Services related to compensation and unemployment support is on www.mlsd.gov.bh.
Trained 10,281 jobseekers
Moving on, the Ministry said it also exceeded its training programme target by serving 10,281 job seekers.
Tamheed Career Training Programme for recent Bahraini graduate engineers and the Daman employment assurance programme are some of them.
The Ministry also had on-thejob training initiatives. The Ministry used offline, online and in-person training services.
82 licenced training institutions
As with the beneficiaries, the number of licensed private training centres also grew, and now have on the list 82 institutions, which include 13 vocational and technical centres and 69 administrative and commercial centres and institutes.
Last year, the Ministry said it also cancelled the licences of 10 institutions.
Labour Ministry also confirmed rolling out 491 training programmes, which include 262 local programmes and 229 by international bodies.
The Ministry also granted 289 licences to administrative, training and technical staff in various institutions.
Held 2,587 inspection
visits Labour inspection was another area where the Ministry focused on boosting job growth.
Last year, Labour Ministry inspectors held 2,587 inspection visits to establishments that housed 168,386 workers, of which 401,135 were expatriates and 84,845 citizens.
The campaigns resulted in recording 61 warnings.
Through a virtual inspection programme, the Ministry said it reached 602 establishments.
Labour Ministry also held six workshops to enhance awareness of Labour laws last year.
Outdoor work ban hits 99.87% compliance
The Ministry said it conducted 820 inspection visits to worksites and workers’ accommodations to ensure safety and compliance with preventive measures.
“Our inspectors also made 19,481 worksite visits during the summer work ban to ensure compliance with Resolution No. (3) of 2013.
The ban, the Ministry said, achieved 99.87% compliance, with only 27 establishments and 52 workers breaching set rules.
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