His Highness 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 Labour Fund (Tamkeen), emphasised that the
national workforce of the Kingdom 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, His Highness
highlighted the critical need for ongoing investment in nurturing Bahraini talent
through training programmes aimed at enhancing leadership skills and
competitiveness.
HH Shaikh Isa bin Salman 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.
At a launch ceremony attended by senior representatives from both the public
and private sectors, His Highness officially unveiled the Skills Bahrain initiative and
the Employability Skills Portal, which operate under the umbrella of the Labour
Fund (Tamkeen). 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 the Labour Fund (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.
