Bahrainis aged from 18-30 years old will now have the opportunity to acquire the highest standard of pilot license thanks to a new agreement announced today to create a Cadet Pilot Training Program between Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company ("Mumtalakat"), Bahrain Development Bank ("BDB") and Tamkeen (Labour Fund).
Under the terms of agreement, pre-selected Bahraini graduates will be able to undertake internationally certified commercial pilot training programs by attending Mumtalakat's soon to be launched pilot and crew training subsidiary, Gulf Aviation Academy. BDB will offer loans to cadets and Tamkeen will pay the interest of the loans. With a total budget of more than BD6 million from BDB and Tamkeen, the program aims to train 100 pilots starting July to qualify for their Airline Transport Pilot's License ("ATPL).
Talal Al Zain, CEO of Mumtalakat, said, "This is an excellent initiative for Bahrainis and for the nation's economy. By working together, Mumtalakat, BDB and Tamkeen can offer Bahraini graduates the opportunity to train for their commercial pilot's license in Bahrain rather than training abroad. It also offers a great opportunity for our new subsidiary, Gulf Aviation Academy, which will offer pilot and crew training to Bahrainis and airline personnel from across the region. Commercial piloting is a high value job and will generate significant social and economic benefits for Bahrain's economy and help to meet the growing demand for pilots regionally. This is the first step in a long-term government strategy to help develop Bahraini skills and talent for the aviation industry. We're delighted to be playing our part in supporting the nation's 2030 Vision."
Gulf Aviation Academy ("GAA") (under formation), will be the first aviation academy to be based in Bahrain and will manage the program, which is scheduled to commence towards the end of 2009. The program will be Ab-initio ("from the beginning") to qualify Bahraini graduates with no previous flying experience and have demonstrated the unique qualities needed to be a commercial pilot and able to handle the intensity of the 16-19 month course.
"This agreement will enhance efforts towards training personnel for the aviation industry," said Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) CEO Mr. Nedhal Al Aujan. "It will also support and enhance the Pilot Training Financing Program launched by the BDB late 2007.
The new programme offers financial support to Bahraini graduates who wish to join the Gulf Aviation Academy which is currently under development by Mumtalakat. Tamkeen will be responsible of paying the interest of the financing which reflects the integrated role of the three parties towards implementing this program.'
"The BDB is working to achieve closer integration between financing and training to develop the national human resource in line with the Bahrain Economic vision for 2030, by creating a network of supporting companies with the same goal, illustrated today's announcement. The programme will be particularly important in meeting the increasing demand of the commercial aviation sector and the demand for the pilot training financing program launched by the bank in 2007, which has now funded 100 cadets, having disbursed BD3.3 million of funding."
Abdulelah Al Qassimi, Chief Executive of Tamkeen, commented, "At Tamkeen our focus is very much on developing the skills of Bahrainis and making them the employees of choice in the private sector. That is why we have till date invested more than BD 43 million in training them for a huge range of careers from nurses and aeronautical engineers to accountants, IT professionals and call-centre staff. To date more than 19,000 young Bahrainis are being targeted to benefit from Tamkeen's initiatives of which 6000 are in our current programmes.
"Therefore we are proud to be part of this agreement with Mumtalakat and BDB, which is presenting this opportunity for Bahrainis to enter the field of aviation. We continually strive to increase awareness of our extensive project work with graduates and training, career progression and employment programmes that we run for young Bahrainis."
Students interested in the program should visit the following website: www.mumtalakat.bh for full details on how to apply.
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About Mumtalakat:
Mumtalakat is the investment company for Bahrain, and was established as an independent holding company for the Government of Bahrain's non-oil and gas assets. With 35 commercial enterprises within its portfolio, Mumtalakat's investment strategy seeks to enter into partnerships with local, regional and global institutions targeting opportunities for long term, sustainable returns.
For more information on Mumtalakat please go to www.bmhc.bh
About BDB:
BDB is a specialized financial institution in financing small and medium enterprises and support the entrepreneurship sector in the kingdom, the bank commenced operations in early 1992 and it offers integrated products and financing programs which includes direct financing, joint venture, Islamic financing and SME financing program in cooperation with Tamkeen, in addition the bank participated in the capital of Venture Capital Bank SME fund with 20%. BDB offers training &consultation services in the business management field along with other financing products including education financing and pilot training financing scheme along with agriculture loans.
About Tamkeen:
Tamkeen (Labour Fund) is a semi-autonomous yet independent authority which formulates strategic and operational plans to enhance the overall prosperity of Bahrain by investing in Bahraini employability, job creation and social support. Tamkeen is funded by the fees collected by the LMRA.
Tamkeen's main objectives are to support Bahrainis to become the employees of choice, and to support high quality private sector job creation.
To achieve these objectives, Tamkeen will invest in the cost and quality competitiveness of Bahrainis (e.g., reduction of cost of employing Bahrainis relative to expatriates, investment in skill and work ethic development programs of Bahrainis); in tackling employment barriers on both employer and labour market entrants' sides through a combination of financial incentives and capability building, and in supporting the private sector's adjustment to new cost structures by providing access to capital to alleviate short-term cash constraints or improve productivity, and in know-how initiatives that support improvements in productivity and decreased reliance on expatriate labour through spreading management and technical knowledge.
Up to the end of March 2009, Tamkeen is investing more than BD 70 million in more than 30 projects targeting more than 19,000 Bahrainis and 5,700 SMEs. Programmes are continuously being devised as per Tamkeen's strategy and the numbers of beneficiaries are continuously increasing.
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© Press Release 2009
