The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) signed a partnership agreement with the Canadian training provider Think Tank Training Centre to train 72 Bahrainis in 3D visualization and video game development. The training aims to provide the local market with qualified talent specialized in visual effects, sound engineering, animations and more in demand skills related to the field. This initiative comes in line with Tamkeen’s plan to train Bahrainis and upskill them in high potential sectors to enhance their competitiveness locally and internationally.
The Bahraini trainees will attend an immersive 16-month program to learn about character design and visual effects for films and video games, while also building various specialized skills in the field through a custom online learning management system and portal. The Think Tank team will continue to work with the trainees after they complete the program to identify training opportunities in prestigious international companies to implement the skills they learned through their training.
Commenting on this partnership, Her Excellency Maha Mofeez, Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) emphasized the importance of developing the skills and competencies of the national workforce and providing them with quality training opportunities in the creative industries sector. She stated: “this partnership with Think Tank will help us stay abreast of market changes and provide Bahraini talent with the skills required to compete within the creative industries sector both locally and internationally, especially in the rapidly growing gaming and film industry.” She added: “we continue our commitment of driving economic growth in the Kingdom by focusing on upskilling the national workforce to help them become the first choice of employment for the private sector.”
The Kingdom of Bahrain’s focus on the creative industries is due to its growing importance globally, and the opportunities it provides to identify and highlight innovative local talent across various creative fields, in addition to enhancing the Kingdom’s position as an entrepreneurial hub for creativity globally, and the economic value it adds as studies have shown that creative industries contribute up to 7% to GDPs internationally. Bahrain boasts an environment conducive to creativity and innovation that reflects its importance in enhancing tourism activity in the Kingdom, especially due to the presence of passionate creative professionals as well as the national efforts to empower the local workforce to pursue entrepreneurship, provide quality job opportunities for Bahrainis and a plethora of local and global investment opportunities.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Think Tank, Mr. Marty Hasselbach welcomed this partnership with Tamkeen as he stated: “We are proud to partner with Tamkeen to deliver this program to Bahrainis and we look forward to working with passionate Bahraini talent within the filmmaking and video gaming industries. According to a survey we conducted, we found 600 Bahrainis interested in training in the video gaming field such as 3D, animation, game development and sound engineering, which shows the readiness of Bahraini youth to establish careers in this growing sector.”