New Bahrain scheme to create 25,000 jobs this year


Bahrain will launch the second edition of its National Employment Program, which aims to create 25,000 jobs in 2021 and provide 10,000 training opportunities annually.

Bahrain will launch the second edition of its National Employment Program, which aims to create 25,000 jobs in 2021 and provide 10,000 training opportunities annually.
 
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, directed the launch of the National Employment Program 2.0 as he chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterda (Jan 18), said a Bahrain News Agency report.
 
The program will be based on three main initiatives, namely the allocation of a budget of BD120 million ($318.35 million) from the Labour Fund ‘Tamkeen’ for three years (2021-2023), double of what has been allocated during the past five years, to support the employment of Bahrainis through the wage support program, while increasing the amount and duration of support extended to those registered with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development and new entrants into the labour market. 
 
The second initiative includes extending the period of announcing vacancies before the recruitment of non-Bahraini workers from two to three weeks, and the third initiative is based on tightening security measures regarding irregular workers, in addition to continuing the initiatives set out in the program’s first version. 
 
The Cabinet welcomed the statement issued by the US designating the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as major strategic partners, adding that this increases the impetus to further this partnership with the US, which has achieved notable success in confronting regional and global challenges.
 
The Cabinet discussed a number of memorandums during the meeting. It also approved a memorandum from the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance on the sustainability of pension funds, which includes measures that will be taken to implement the six urgent reforms to extend the life of pension funds until 2078, in addition to increasing the pensions of retirees receiving less than BD500 by 3% for this year.