Tamkeen and the Bahrain Training Institute have signed a deal worth more than BD203,200 ($539,070) to fund 80 Bahrainis to study for a Diploma in Travel & Tourism Operations at BTI’s Travel Academy.

This will be followed by job placement of successful candidates by BTI in conjunction with Association of Bahrain Travel & Tourism Agents (ABTTA) in leading travel agencies of the country.

“Tourism and logistics are among the sectors targeted for further growth and development, therefore we see this project as one of many key steps that Tamkeen has already taken to exploit the opportunities that present themselves to Bahrainis wishing to establish a career in travel and tourism services,” stated Abdulellah Al Qassimi, chief executive of Tamkeen.

“The programme will not only focus on ticketing systems such as Sabre, Amadeus and Galileo but will also provide a well-rounded approach consisting of geographical knowledge, communication skills for the travel industry, retail travel operations and marketing as well as environmental topics of relevance and leading to an International certificate from the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM) UK,” added Hamid Saleh, director-general of Bahrain Training Institute.

'BTI's Travel Academy has educational tie-up with International Air Transport Association (IATA), Institute of Commercial Management (ICM), UK and three major Global Distribution Systems.”

“This partnership fulfils one of the goals of ABTTA, which is Bahranisation,” said Sufyan Al Moayyed, chairman of ABTTA.-TradeArabia News Service