Manama, Dec. 6 (BNA): The Labor Fund (Tamkeen) held its fourth meeting of its board of directors to review the most prominent achievements made according to the key performance indicators specified for this year.
Tamkeen’s board of directors praised the performance of the Labor Fund, which resulted in Tamkeen receiving a number of local and international awards, including the award of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa in the category of advancement of Bahraini women in the public sector (official institutions). Tamkeen was honored as a result of its organizational strategy that focused on promoting gender equality and increasing women’s competitiveness and participation in the labor market.
His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Directors, confirmed that Tamkeen’s achievements this year came as a result of the comprehensive transformation plan that was put forward. The plan focuses on addressing current challenges and upcoming opportunities in line with the National Economic Recovery Plan and the national priorities that Tamkeen is working to achieve along with the key players in Team Bahrain.
He added, “Our current strategy focuses on measuring the impact of our various programs and initiatives, and we are keen to adopt a flexible response to market changes by employing digital solutions and enhancing productivity to achieve the desired goals.”
Commenting on the progress, Ms. Maha Mafiz, Acting CEO of the Labor Fund (Tamkeen), stated that the results according to the key performance indicators of Tamkeen programs increased during this quarter, as the number of new supported establishments rose to 2,188, representing 219% of the target. In addition, employment support for Bahrainis has increased, with the number of jobs reaching 9,000, which is 90% of the target. The total number of trained Bahrainis reached 7842, or 78% of the target.
She added, “This quarter also witnessed the launch of many initiatives aimed at supporting the entrepreneurship environment in the Kingdom by enriching the experiences of entrepreneurs and providing them with initiatives aimed at enhancing their business and encouraging their effective participation in the national economy.”
These initiatives included celebrating the Global Entrepreneurship Week with the participation of more than 750 participants and 28 local and international speakers, sponsoring the Startup Bahrain initiative, which aims to create an incubating platform for startups in Bahrain, in addition to launching the new Startup Bahrain Pitch initiative to train entrepreneurs on promotional skills to attract investors.
This is in line with the continued support of institutions through the main support programs to enable them to achieve development goals to increase productivity, expand and create sustainable, high-value job opportunities. Recent announcements of support have included support for the American Mission Hospital of King Hamad (AMH) in A’ali, which will create quality jobs for hundreds of Bahrainis. In addition to the support provided for the expansion of the Yas factory, which will allow to increase production and expand exports in the region and employ dozens of Bahrainis.
With regard to individual support through Tamkeen programs, and with the aim of training and employing local talents in the information and communication technology sector, partnership agreements have been signed to obtain on-the-job training opportunities with Zain through the “Zain Code 2030” program, as well as with the Saudi Telecom Company. Through the graduate training program “A Generation for Information and Communication Technology” in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and the Economic Development Board.
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