Following His Majesty’s directives, the approval of the Cabinet and directives of His Highness Sheikh Isa bin Salman Ministry of Labour and Tamkeen Announce the Launch of New Programmes Aimed at Supporting 50,000 Bahrainis Per Year

His Excellency Mr. Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, Labour Minister, and Her Excellency Ms. Maha Abdulhameed Mofeez, Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), held a joint press conference today to announce the launch of Tamkeen’s new programmes.

The launch comes as part of the Royal Directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to continue creating quality opportunities for Bahriani citizens and the Cabinet’s approval, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and following the directives of His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Isa bin Salman Education Charitable Trust, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) to launch the new programmes, the largest since Tamkeen’s inception, that will support 50,000 Bahrainis annually.

At the press conference, Tamkeen announced the details of the new programmes which aim to increase employment opportunities for Bahrainis and support career development for the national workforce within the private sector. As part of this initiative, a new budget will be dedicated for supporting 50,000 Bahrainis per year through the various tracks offered by Tamkeen, catering to the following objectives:

• Increasing the wages of Bahrainis working in the private sector,
• Enhancing employment opportunities available to Bahrainis,
• Expanding training programmes to equip Bahraini talent with the skills required in the labour market,
• Introducing training and support programmes to facilitate the employment of Bahrainis in executive and leadership positions,
• and continuing to support private sector enterprises to achieve growth and expansion.

The Labour Minister, His Excellency Mr. Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, stressed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to ongoing comprehensive development, in addition to investing all capabilities to support the ambitions of Bahraini citizens and identify new avenues for their employment across the various economic sectors.

He praised the Royal Directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to create more quality opportunities for Bahraini citizens and highlighted the pivotal role of the government under the leadership of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, in the implementation of His Majesty’s directives that place Bahraini citizens as the cornerstone of development initiatives. The Minister also highlighted that efforts are underway to prepare the labour market for attracting high potential investments that can generate quality job opportunities for Bahrainis to drive employment initiatives and enhance the positioning of Bahrainis as the first choice of employment.

The Minister of Labour emphasized the importance of the collaboration between the Ministry of Labour and Tamkeen in the upskilling and development of the national workforce. He noted that the new programmes launched as a result of the directives of His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Isa bin Salman Education Charitable Trust, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), further affirms the commitment to the national efforts aimed at facilitating the entry of Bahrainis to the labour market and supporting their career development and growth within it.

The Minister added that the launch of these programmes and the various initiatives aim to support employment, training, career development and wage increments for Bahraini private sector employees. This comes as part of the ongoing partnership between the government and the private sector and following the recent agreements between the legislative and executive authorities regarding the state’s general budget last May.

For her part, the Chief Executive of Tamkeen, Maha Abdulhameed Mofeez, affirmed Tamkeen’s commitment to implement the Royal Directives following the approval of the Cabinet, chaired by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and under the leadership of His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Isa bin Salman Education Charitable Trust, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen). In line with this commitment, Tamkeen launched these new programmes, the largest since its inception, supporting employment and career development for 50,000 Bahrainis annually. The programmes are focused on three main initiatives to support new market entrants and create quality opportunities for them, while enabling career development for Bahraini cadres to become the employees of choice in the labour market. This comes in collaboration with various partners such as the Ministry of Labour and different stakeholders from the private sector.

Her Excellency added: “Through these programmes launched by Tamkeen, we are introducing support that will increase the wages of Bahrainis in the private sector, enhance their career development and increase the employment channels available to them. These programmes target 50,000 Bahrainis annually and will also provide quality training programmes and initiatives aimed at facilitating the employment of Bahrainis in leadership and executive positions, under three main initiatives.”

Tamkeen’s CE further clarified that the first initiative is focused on providing programmes that support employment with higher caps and other enhanced support features. The purpose of these improvements is to increase targeted segments that can benefit from these programmes and support Bahrainis in obtaining quality high paying jobs through enhanced versions of current programmes such as an updated National Employment Programme, and through new support tracks targeting specialized jobs. Additionally, Tamkeen aims to support the employment of Bahrainis in executive and leadership positions and encouraging enterprises to train and employ Bahrainis through apprenticeships.

The CE explained that the second initiative is focused on supporting the career development of Bahrainis in the labour market, by dedicating an unprecedented budget to support career growth through programmes designed to cater to the labour market needs, taking into consideration the growth opportunities available in the market. These programmes come with higher funding caps, enhanced features and extended support periods to maximize Tamkeen’s support and incentivize enterprises that are committed to investing in their human capital. Training programmes will also be enhanced to cover the full cost of obtaining professional qualifications, new learning incentives for individuals enrolled in specific professional qualification programmes and specialized skills training, thus reinforcing the position of Bahrainis as the first choice of employment in the labour market, especially in quality jobs.

As for the third initiative, Mofeez indicated that it will include the introduction of new enterprise support programmes with various tracks that cater to enterprises of all sizes and growth stages, thus enabling them to launch new ideas and innovations that can power their expansion both locally and internationally. Furthermore, the new programmes will include a number of incentives that are linked to achieving objectives related to employing Bahrainis, financial growth and more.

Tamkeen recently held a series of open consultation sessions with private sector representatives who shared their perspective about the opportunities and challenges facing each sector, and how to facilitate collaboration with the private sector to implement the initiatives focused on employment, career development and enterprise development to drive more positive impact.

Tamkeen will begin accepting applications for the enhanced programmes and tracks on 9th November 2023 through its online portal, while continuing to expand on partnerships and initiatives that achieve key mandates, alongside providing Bahrainis with training and upskilling across various specialties in alignment with labour market requirements.

This announcement complements Tamkeen’s ongoing efforts in supporting individuals and enterprises as part of this year’s strategic priorities which are focused four key pillars: supporting growth and development of enterprises, entrepreneurship ecosystem development, facilitating the increased economic participation of Bahrainis, providing training that is aligned with the labour market needs in new and emerging skills, all of which drive positive economic impact and sustainable growth