Jobs training for Bahrainis

BAHRAIN is taking major initiatives to boost the competitiveness of citizens and reduce unemployment, a top official has said.

Labour Minister Jameel Humaidan admitted that zero unemployment was practically impossible with thousands of graduates constantly entering the labour market often exceeding the demand.

He, however, stressed that efforts were being taken to upskill citizens to equip them for jobs in various sectors.

“The Bahrain Polytechnic has started training 3,000 graduates in humanities to qualify them for roles in the private sector,” he said.

Mr Humaidan said he was personally monitoring the unemployment registry, which was fully electronic and that no-one in the ministry could nominate anybody for a job.

“The applicant logs in to the system with his personal number to view the available vacancies and he has three months to choose the role that best suits his qualifications and interests,” he said, adding that many applicants weren’t keen to take up responsibilities and ‘are just looking for the unemployment allowance and not a job.”

There are 13,000 to 14,000 job-seekers who report to the Social Insurance Organisation on a regular basis to receive allowance, he pointed out, calling on MPs to inform him of any person whose file was ‘unjustly closed’.

He also asserted that Bahrainis were the first choice for employers and that expatriates were hired only when local talents were unavailable.

“There are 470,000 expatriates working in Bahrain and 72pc of them are in the construction sector, earning below BD200 in jobs that Bahrainis do not prefer,” he said. “Several businesses and establishments have now achieved 100pc Bahrainisation rates,” Mr Humaidan added.

Source: https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1240669/Jobs-training-for-Bahrainis