Tamkeen, Bahrain’s labour fund, has launched a major initiative towards training more than 580 nursing professionals over the next eight years. 

The Tamkeen Healthcare Programme, established in 2008, has so far trained over 1,400 healthcare workers.

Bahrain's labour fund has now pumped a further BD6.312 million ($16.74 million) into the programme for the training of the 582 nursing staff, according to officials.

A total of 332 Bahraini secondary school science stream graduates will be selected to study a Bachelors Degree in Nursing at the College of Health Sciences (CHS). Another 250 students will study for a Diploma (BSc Completion) in Nursing.

Candidates for the degree will be required to have a grade point average (GPA) of 80 per cent or more recorded in the last two years and pass an English test conducted by CHS.

Those who apply for the one-year Diploma course, meanwhile, must have an Associate Diploma in Nursing with a GPA of 2.5 out of 4, a valid nursing licence and at least two years' experience in the field.

The programme is part of a series of education support initiatives for healthcare professionals by Tamkeen, said the officials.

Classes will begin at the CHS in Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) next month.

"We are encouraged to continue supporting healthcare education in order to enable Bahrainis to work in this sector," said Tamkeen vice-president for enterprise and human capital development Dr Ahmed Abdulhameed Al Shaikh.

"The healthcare profession is one of the identified skills gaps needs in the kingdom and worldwide. Therefore, Tamkeen is proud to collaborate with the CHS to support Bahrainis in this field. In recent times, the growing population and demographic changes, besides the lengthening life expectancies, are radically changing the dynamics of the healthcare sector in Bahrain.”

"This has meant that the kingdom's healthcare sector needs more trained professionals at all levels to deliver the high standards of healthcare that it has always been known for,” he added.

Health Ministry training and development assistant under-secretary Dr Fawzi Abdulla Ameen said that one of the defining hallmarks of a developed nation was that it had an effective healthcare service.

"Bahrain has one of the best facilities in the region," he said. "As life expectancy increases, we will need more trained healthcare workers to manage complex solutions that will give our citizens and residents a quality of life that they can continue to enjoy and be productive.”

"Tamkeen's studies on skills gaps have shown the potential for employment in this field and the need for more Bahrainis. We feel empowered to be working with Tamkeen on this project to tap the potential of Bahrainis for this vital infrastructural aspect of the kingdom's development,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service