In line with its strategy to promote career opportunities at Bahrain International Airport (BIA) and educate young graduates about the new Passenger Terminal Building, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) hosted a group of Bahraini students for a tour of its headquarters and the existing airport terminal. The tours were also part of the Rotary Club of Adliya’s Career Tasters programme, which exposes students from public and private schools to different industries and professions in the Kingdom.
Following a welcome presentation, team members from BAC’s Human Resources (HR) Department led Rotary Club of Adliya representative, Amal Al Kooheji and the students on a tour of different BAC departments, including HR, Health, Safety and Environment, Finance, ICT, Procurement, and Soft Services. They were briefed on the departments’ functions as well as the job responsibilities and educational requirements of such roles. Team members from Airport Operations also guided the students through a similar tour of the Customs and Immigration areas at BIA’s existing terminal.
BAC Vice President of Human Resources, Hind Mahmood said: “Through the Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP), the Kingdom’s aviation sector is undergoing a remarkable transformation, and many new jobs are being created in the process. We hope the students’ found their tours of BAC and BIA useful and gained a broader understanding of the aviation industry as well as the potential career opportunities available to them.”
She added: “Our commitment to developing the skills of young Bahrainis is the driving force behind Tahleeq, a training and development programme aimed at shaping the future leaders of Bahrain’s aviation industry. Through both theoretical and practical training, it equips participants with advanced skillsets that support the development of the Kingdom’s aviation sector. At present, there are
80 young Bahraini graduates enrolled in the Tahleeq programme, and we
look forward to potentially welcoming these students as Tahleeq participants in the future.”
The recruitment, training, and development of Bahraini professionals have been pillars of BAC’s growth strategy since 2010, allowing it to achieve an impressive 80% Bahrainisation rate to date. BAC aims to increase this figure to 90 per cent by 2021, and, at the beginning of 2019, it implemented a series of initiatives to steadily increase the number of Bahrainis within its ranks until it achieves this target.
The Career Tasters programme runs for four weeks and will see the students, aged 16 to 19, visit leading organisations across the Kingdom, spanning industries as diverse as engineering, media, medicine, hospitality, finance and insurance, aviation, and start-ups/incubators. The students are provided with journals to record all their visits and coaching sessions, which are stamped and serve as a personal development and achievement record.