Tamkeen holds its first Board of Directors Meeting for 2023
The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) held its first Board of Directors meeting for the year of 2023 to discuss the updates on the implementation of its strategy and programs, and to present its key performance indicators (KPIs) for the year ahead. This was in addition to reviewing the progress of the institute’s digital transformation plan and approving the financial accounts for 2022.
According to performance indicators from January and February 2023, Tamkeen has supported more than 3,500 Bahraini individuals through training and employment support initiatives, and has supported 1,217 enterprises, with the percentage of startups exceeding 51% of the total number of supported enterprises.
During the meeting, His Excellency Sh. Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Directors emphasized Tamkeen’s commitment to implementing its current strategy cycle which is in line with national priorities and the economic recovery plan. Tamkeen’s latest strategy focused on incentivizing high-potential enterprises that offer greater opportunities for growth and expansion, while also contributing to the creation of high-quality jobs for locals.
Her Excellency Ms Maha Mofeez, Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) stated that Tamkeen will continue to build on the positive results of the past year, which contribute to achieving the desired impact of the support programs and lead to sustainable economic growth. Tamkeen will continue to focus on its strategic priorities, which include facilitating the increased economic participation of Bahrainis, providing training that is aligned with labor market needs in new and emerging skills, as well as enterprise and ecosystem development, to drive positive economic impact and sustainable growth in the Kingdom.
During the first quarter, Tamkeen launched several initiatives aligned with its objectives, including around supporting the employment of Bahraini doctors in private sector institutions by providing training and employment support initiatives, in addition to providing incentives for institutions with high Bahrainization rates amongst their medical staff. Additionally, Tamkeen signed partnership agreements with leading local and international institutions to train and employ Bahrainis according to labor market needs, including an agreement with “Fives Group” to provide specialized training opportunities for tens of Bahrainis in the manufacturing sector.
This quarter also saw the graduation of the first cohort of the Cyber Security Training Program in partnership with SANS Institute, and intensive training programs on “Software Engineering” and “UI/UX Design” skills in partnership with General Assembly.
As for entrepreneurship support initiatives, Tamkeen announced its partnership with several creative hubs as part of its support for the high-potential creative industries sector, which also includes support tracks within Tamkeen’s programs. Also announced during the quarter was the official relaunch of the Startup Bahrain platform, which will continue to empower and enhance the startup ecosystem in the Kingdom. The relaunch includes an updated vision and new perks for startups.
Last year, Tamkeen supported 4.1K enterprises of all sizes across various sectors through all the programs, whereby the percentage of high value sustainable jobs for Bahrainis increased to 21% in comparison to the year before which is due to the proactive approach to support applications from high potential businesses. This resulted in supporting over 10K job opportunities and over 8.4K training opportunities for Bahrainis to increase their participation in the labor market.