More than 14,000 Bahrainis have been employee in the first half of this year. This was stated by Labour Minister Jameela Humaidan.
He underlined that 14,163 have been employed between January and June at the rate of 71 per cent within the Economic Recovery Plan. This amounts to 20,000 hiring operations annually, said Mr Humaidan stressing that this reflects the stability of the labour market and its growth towards generating more jobs in various productive sectors.
The minister’s statement came during the Cabinet review of labour market indicators in the second quarter of 2023.
As per the review the number of citizens benefiting from various training programmes reached 7,237 trainees, which constitutes 72pc of the declared goal of training 10,000 Bahrainis annually as part of the Economic Recovery Plan.
This includes beneficiaries from programs offered by the Labour Ministry in cooperation with the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), in addition to training programmes where business owners and individuals registered directly with Tamkeen, as well as training courses funded by business owners for their employees directly with training institutes. The minister noted that inspection campaigns were intensified to correct the conditions of foreign workers within the registered employment system. He indicated that the campaigns would continue in cooperation with the relevant government agencies, praising the ongoing cooperation with the Interior Ministry.
On wages of citizens working in the private sector, Mr Humaidan said that wages witnessed an increase of 6.3pc, especially after the launch of several initiatives aimed at increasing the wage support and improving the level of wages of new employees in the private sector. He pointed that the higher wages in the private sector contributed to attracting more citizens to work in the private sector, which is the main driver of the kingdom’s economy.
He praised the cooperation of business owners with the ministry’s projects and programmes aimed at enhancing the integration of citizens seeking jobs in various private sector establishments.
He affirmed that investing in Bahrainis achieves more gains for companies and institutions, especially in light of the encouraging incentives offered by the government to the private sector to fully play its role in the national economy.
Mr Humaidan, who is also the Chairman of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) director board, affi rmed the government led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister is continuing to accelerate the rate of employment of Bahrainis in various private sector establishments.
This is done by attracting more job-generating investments, enhancing the work environment, diversifying training and qualification policies, and providing many advantages and incentives for the private sector so that Bahrainis will be the first choice for recruitment in the labor market, said the minister.