Bahrain’s Labour Fund (Tamkeen) on Sunday officially unveiled its Skills Bahrain initiative and the Employability Skills Portal, which operate under the umbrella of Tamkeen.

Launching the two initiatives, Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Isa bin Salman Educational Charitable Trust and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tamkeen, emphasised that the national workforce of Bahrain is the foundation of success and excellence across all industries.

He praised the capabilities of Bahrainis in driving national development and achieving ambitious goals. Furthermore, he highlighted the critical need for ongoing investment in nurturing Bahraini talent through training programmes aimed at enhancing leadership skills and competitiveness.

Shaikh Isa reiterated the commitment to implementing innovative and specialised initiatives that align with this vision, supporting comprehensive national development under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and with the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The launch ceremony was attended by senior representatives from both the public and private sectors.

He emphasised that these ambitious initiatives represent a comprehensive vision aimed at holistically developing the labour market. This vision is centred on understanding market demands and leveraging data-driven insights to support the implementation of upskilling initiatives in collaboration with various organisations within the Team Bahrain ecosystem. These efforts are designed to provide the private sector with a highly skilled national workforce capable of driving economic growth.

The launch of Skills Bahrain marks a pivotal moment in Tamkeen’s efforts to bridge the skills gap. This initiative aims to strengthen collaboration among key government stakeholders, private sector leaders, and educational institutions to create a skills-based ecosystem that connects individuals with employers while offering reliable and relevant training opportunities, thus further enhancing skills development in the kingdom.

Skills Bahrain conducts research in key economic sectors and analyses labour market data to identify skill gaps. These insights are used to guide relevant stakeholders in addressing the needs of the ecosystem.

The Initiative’s strategy is built around three key pillars. The first pillar, Engaged National Workforce, empowers Bahrainis with skills targeted at key sectors and high-value roles to ensure their readiness to enter the job market.

The second, Involved Employers, relates to partnering with the private sector to highlight specific workforce needs, skills, and behaviours, and to help upskill and reskill the national workforce. The final pillar, Relevant and High-Quality Training, ensures that training aligns with private sector requirements in an ecosystem in which skills are validated and recognised.

The Employability Skills Portal, the first-of-its-kind platform in the region, is designed to empower students, job-seekers, employees, employers, and training and educational institutes, by providing essential data and insights into labour market dynamics. This initiative is the result of a partnership between Skills Bahrain, the Information & eGovernment Authority, and several key partners.

The tools and data provided by Skills Bahrain enable Tamkeen to develop human capital initiatives and partnerships that enhance the skills and competitiveness of local talent, ensuring that Bahrainis remain the preferred workforce within the labour market. – TradeArabia News Service