Bahrain EDB Commends Tamkeen Investment in Human Capital

 

28 June 2010
Source : Bahrain Economic Development Board

CallingThe Chief Executive of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) today commended Tamkeen after the organisation announced its investment in human capital had targeted over 20,000 job entrants and employees by end-2009.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa’s comments follow the publication of Tamkeen’s Annual Report, which shows its private sector support programmes had supported 3,212 enterprises by the close of the year.  Some 27,560 job entrants and employees have been targeted for specialised training through its human capital development programmes.  And thousands more have benefited through a number of approved enterprise and career development programmes.

He said: “The large number of beneficiaries enrolled in Tamkeen’s programmes reflects its commitment to enabling a prosperous future for Bahrain and important role in achieving the ambitions of Vision 2030.  This investment in human resources – and in cultivating the growth of the private sector – is crucial for the Kingdom’s continued and sustainable economic growth.”

The EDB – which is leading Bahrain’s Vision 2030 and creating the right climate to attract foreign investment – launched labour market reforms in 2004 under the guidance of His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain and Chairman of the EDB.  This has led to the establishment of Tamkeen  to equip Bahrain’s highly-skilled young workforce with the relevant skills to enable them to seek better opportunities to elevate the national living standards in line with Bahrain’s Vision 2030.

Since 2007, Tamkeen has helped to enable the private sector and empower people, talent, careers, systems and cultures.  The organisation has supported initiatives aimed at improving the labour and capital productivity of Bahraini businesses.  And through programmes to help Bahrainis advance professionally, it is helping to ensure that an even greater number of the Kingdom’s growing and increasingly diverse national workforce become the employees of choice for international businesses locating in Bahrain as the gateway to the trillion dollar Gulf market.

H.E. the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Tamkeen's Chairman Dr. Nezar bin Sadiq Al Baharna added:  “Our alignment to the Kingdom’s Economic Vision 2030 cements our goals and signifies the important role that we play in its realisation.  Our mission now is to empower Bahrainis according to market requirements and build enterprise capabilities in order to contribute to the expansion of the national economy.  A skilled workforce and an empowered private sector is another added value to all the other attractions for investing in Bahrain”

An estimated 100,000 young people will join the Bahrain workforce over the next 10 years.  Among them will be an ever increasing number of university graduates and women seeking highly skilled positions.  The Kingdom’s business sector is already supported by the most productive, well-educated and highly skilled national workforce in the GCC, a key factor in attracting multinational companies.

Bahrain has consistently invested in education and skills-attainment in line with the requirements of international business.  Tamkeen’s own 2010-2014 Strategy aims to ensure the Kingdom’s human capital is more productive, effective and responsive for a more competitive private sector.

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Notes to editors

The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)

The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is a dynamic public agency with an overall responsibility for formulating and overseeing the economic development strategy of Bahrain, and for creating the right climate to attract direct investment into the Kingdom.
 
The role of the Bahrain EDB is to provide leadership by uniting all of the Kingdom's shareholders through a unified vision, and to develop key strategies for growth. The Bahrain EDB also acts as a facilitator, helping all of Bahrain's stakeholders to understand and adopt the changes necessary for progress. In addition, the Bahrain EDB provides sound project management to ensure that all agreed reform initiatives are implemented in an effective and timely manner.
 
The Bahrain EDB is also responsible for attracting inward investment into Bahrain, and is focusing on six target economic sectors in which the Kingdom offers significant strengths. These are financial services, downstream industries, tourism, business services, logistics, and education and training.
 
For more information on the Bahrain EDB visit www.bahrainedb.com; for information about Bahrain visit www.bahrain.com 

Further information

Jenan Al Maskati, Bahrain Economic Development Board
Tel: +973 17 589 930
Email: internationalmedia@bahrainedb.com 

Alisdair Haythornthwaite, Bell Pottinger
Tel: + 971 566 901 725
Email: ahaythornthwaite@bell-pottinger.co.uk

Tamkeen:

Tamkeen 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.

Tamkeen has invested more than BD 150 million in more than 50 projects targeting more than 20,000 Bahrainis and 5,700 enterprises.  Programmes are continuously being devised as per Tamkeen’s strategy and the numbers of beneficiaries are continuously increasing.

For more information on our programmes and initiatives, please contact:

Marketing Communications
Tamkeen
Kingdom of Bahrain
Tel: 17383326/17383327
Fax: 17382352
Email: info@tamkeen.bh   
Website : www.tamkeen.bh