Tamkeen earmarks $318.3mln for employment of Bahrainis

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MANAMA: Tamkeen has allocated a budget of BD120 million for the next three years (2021-2023) to support the employment of Bahrainis, it has emerged.

The labour fund chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa told a Press conference yesterday that the amount has been doubled from the budget allocated in the past five years.

There has also been an increase in the amount and duration of support provided for those registered with the Labour and Social Development Ministry and fresh graduates, he said.

The budget will also go towards developing and enhancing current and new programmes, including supporting remote and part-time work, which Shaikh Mohammed stressed Tamkeen’s keenness to meet the needs of the current market, especially due to the economic repercussions caused by the pandemic on the global market.

Also speaking during the Press conference held virtually, Labour and Social Development Minister and Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) chairman Jameel Humaidan said the second version of the National Employment Programme, based on the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince Prime Minister, aims to create jobs for 25,000 citizens this year and provide 10,000 training opportunities, through three initiatives.

The first of which is reopening of all of Tamkeen’s schemes aimed at enabling Bahrainis to be the employee of choice within the private sector, in addition to supporting employers to create new job opportunities for citizens and improve their wages, since the average wage of national workers in the private sector amounts to BD763.

Mr Humaidan said LMRA will start implementing the second initiative by keeping local job vacancies open to Bahrainis for three weeks instead of two weeks earlier, before offering the jobs to expatriate workers.

This has been done to encourage employers to benefit from the programme, increase the period of advertising jobs, and give employers better opportunities to select candidates based on their needs.

Under the third initiative, explained the minister, the LMRA will work with the Interior Ministry to tighten security measures for monitoring and deporting illegal workers enabling Bahrainis to be the employee of choice.

The initiative seeks to address any issues within the labour market caused by illegal employment, where Mr Humaidan pointed out that the inspectors will work to execute the seven rules recently issued by the Cabinet to regulate flexi and non-flexi employment.

The ministry will provide electronic services to facilitate procedures and ensure the success of the programme.

Attending was Tamkeen chief executive Dr Ebrahim Janahi who said registration for schemes, as part of the National Employment Programme will open on Sunday.

Besides training and wage support, there will be a special scheme catering to fresh graduates offering them full-time or part-time jobs or even internships in the private sector.

According to Dr Janahi, a comprehensive evaluation of the fresh graduates scheme will be done after six months, to measure its effectiveness and also to make sure it remains consistent with Tamkeen’s strategy.

The review will not affect the employees already enrolled as support provided to them will be for three years.

Applications for the Enterprise Support Programme are scheduled to be open next month, and the scheme will include changes aimed at meeting market needs and also supporting employees with career progression.

avinash@gdn.com.bh

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