Agreement comes as a part of Tamkeen's employment support initiative

Manama, Bahrain, Wednesday 17thJuly 2013: As part of its efforts to enhance and improve the skills of Bahrainis and to make them the employees of choice, Tamkeen signed an agreement with Tatweer Petroleum to train 60 Bahrainis at the National Institute for Industrial Training (NIIT) to be employed at the company. The beneficiaries will be divided into two groups, with 40 of them trained in oil and gas field operations and the remaining 20 in mechanical, electrical, and maintenance operations.

Under the programme, to which a budget of BD627,000 has been allocated, beneficiaries in the first group will receive training for 12 months and the second group will receive training for 18 months. Theoretical training will take place at NIIT while theon-the-job training will take place at Tatweer.

As the Oil and Gas industry is increasingly becoming the life line of manyeconomies and where the lack of well qualified and trained workforce is apparent, the programme targets Bahrainis 25 years or younger that hold atechnical secondary school qualification or university graduates who hold industrial, technical and vocational qualifications. The combination of theoretical training at NIIT and on-the-job training at Tatweer will ensure thatthe beneficiaries will receive complete training and preparation for future employment.

Tamkeen's Chief Executive Mahmood Hashim Al-Kooheji said "The agreement is yet another achievement for Tamkeen's employment support programmes,". "These programmes help companies fill vacancies with highly qualified Bahrainis, and at the same time provide Bahrainis with skills that enable them to find careers in the labour market, which ultimately helps further boost and develop the national economy."

For his part, Tatweer Petroleum Chief Executive Officer Edward Hanley commented:"The oil and gas sector is the largest sector in the GCC region, and its vastly diversified specialisations always require qualified staff with local experience. We are pleased to have signed this agreement with Tamkeen, whichwill help the company realise its strategic objectives and serve Bahrain's national economy."  

According to Tamkeen's 2013 Operational Plan, the employment support initiative currently includes 23 various programmes aimed at training and employing more than 3,300Bahrainis. In addition to the oil and gas industry, these programmes cover many other sectors, such as automotive, retail, health, finance, accounting,marketing, logistics, ICT, and legal services.

Morethan 77,000 Bahrainis and Bahraini enterprises have benefited from Tamkeen programmes to date, with the figure expected to rise to more than 150,000 inthe near future.

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About Tamkeen
Tamkeenis an initiative funded by the private sector for the private sector, tasked with developing Bahrain's private sector and positioning it as the key driverof economic development. Established in August 2006, Tamkeen is one of thecornerstones of Bahrain's national reform initiatives and Bahrain EconomicVision.

Tamkeen has two primary objectives:Firstly, fostering the creation and development of enterprises, and secondly,providing support to enhance the productivity and growth of enterprises andindividuals.

Under each of those objectives,certain mechanisms and innovative support initiatives have been put in place byTamkeen to address current and future gaps for individuals and enterprises inthe private sector that have been identified by thorough studies of the labour market landscape. To date, Tamkeen has created 180 such support programmes.

For Bahrainis, Tamkeen's programmes range from developing the skills and capabilities of Bahrain's human capital,to promoting sound workplace ethics and training on leadership and managementbest practices, among others. For enterprises, Tamkeen provides programmes which offer enterprises with subsidised business support services, facilitate access to financing to bridge the enterprise financing gap, and enable entrepreneurship, to name a few.

As of end of 2012, Tamkeen's programmes have benefited 75,000 Bahrainis and enterprises in the private sector.In all, more than 150,000 beneficiaries are expected to benefit from these support programmes.

For enterprises, nearly 19,000enterprises have benefited from Tamkeen's support programmes, including enabling more than 4,900 enterprises to get low-cost capital through its BD210million financing portfolio, and more than 4,500 enterprises to enhance their performance through its subsidised business support services.

In parallel, Tamkeen's programmeshave played a key role in institutionalising new concepts within Bahrain'sprivate sector, including SME and micro-financing, entrepreneurship as a viablecareer path, women empowerment, modern accounting and auditing systems withinSMEs, and many other paradigms needed for a vibrant sustainable private sector.

Tamkeen's funds come from 50% ofthe fees collected from the Labour Market Regulatory Authority.

For more information about ourprogrammes, please call:
Tamkeen 
Telephone: 17 383333
Fax: 17 382352
e-Mail:support@tamkeen.bh

Website: www.tamkeen.bh
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© Press Release 2013