Tamkeen, Bahrain’s labour fund, has signed two separate agreements with Al Zayani Investments and Al Kooheji Global Group to train Bahraini employees in the two companies.

The agreements are part of Tamkeen's Career Progression Programme, which aims to enhance the capabilities and skills of Bahrainis towards employment in the private sector. This is the second time Al Zayani has signed an agreement to train some of its employees through the programme.

The Career Progression Programme is implemented by a team of professional experts through five stages.

They include contract signing, initial analysis to identify training needs of the benefiting employees, further analysis to identify skill gaps among Bahrainis employed by the beneficiary companies, creating an overall training and development plan, finding a qualified party to conduct and start the training, and ending with a subsidised increase in the basic salary of the benefiting employees.

The training programme includes several modules on high-performance leadership skills, problem solving, efficient decision-making at the workplace, and development of employees to form high performance teams.

“The Career Progression Programme is one of the most important programmes that Tamkeen offers to support the development of human capital and the growth of private sector enterprises," said Amal Al Kooheji, Tamkeen’s acting vice president Human Capital Development.

"One of the first programmes to be launched by Tamkeen, the Career Progression Programme proved highly efficient in the past five years, through developing the skills of Bahrainis on one hand, and improving the performance of the beneficiary enterprises on the other. This dual benefit makes the programme a vital element in the development of the national economy and the proficiency of the local workforce."

Tariq Al Kooheji, business managing director at Al Kooheji Global Group, said: “This is considered a step forward that stems from Al Kooheji Global Group’s initiative to up-skill Bahrainis and prepare them for high-level managerial and specialised positions within the group.

“We appreciate Tamkeen’s continuous efforts that have contributed greatly in improving productivity and workforce efficiency in the private sector, which contributed to the growth and development of the national economy through an experienced and trained workforce.”

Mohammed Saleh Ghareeb, HR and Admin manager at Al Zayani Investments, said: “We seek to provide Bahrainis with employment opportunities in order for them to be able to contribute through their unique set of skills.”

Launched in 2007, the Career Progression Programme has so far served more than 12,000 Bahraini beneficiaries from 482 companies across all sectors, with a total Tamkeen subsidy amount of about BD23 million.

According to Tamkeen's operational plan for 2013, the programme is set to serve an additional 20,000 Bahrainis. – TradeArabia News Service