Bahrain’s labour officials have identified a major gap in the number of registered Bahraini job-seekers and vacancies in the private and public sectors.

The Labour Ministry has a record of 8,000 unemployed Bahrainis, while both sectors combined have only 6,000 vacancies, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The latest figures were revealed by the ministry’s employment service bureau head Naeema Al Hussaini yesterday on the sidelines of the 14th annual Job Fair organised by LuLu Hypermarket under the patronage of Labour Minister Jameel Humaidan.

The two-day event, at Ramli Mall in A’ali, features 13 private companies and is part of the National Employment and Training Scheme.

The project complements the ministry’s 10-year National Employment Project launched in 2006, which aims to provide 100,000 jobs for citizens in the next 10 years.

“The ministry has a total of 8,000 registered job-seekers, of which 80 per cent are women,” Al Hussaini told the GDN.

“We have identified 6,000 job vacancies in the labour market and during these fairs many Bahrainis find the job of their choice. The shortage of jobs in the market has been identified and the ministry is working hand in hand with the Education Ministry to solve this.”

However, Al Hussaini insisted there was no gender discrimination when hiring people in both the public and private sectors.

“The majority of job-seekers are women, but this doesn’t mean there is gender discrimination,” she said.

“The facts that contribute to this high percentage are: Bahrain’s population consists of more females, women don’t prefer long working hours thus private sector is not their choice and the types of jobs available.”

She added that at least 600 Bahrainis would be able to find jobs during the fair, which is expected to attract around 3,000 job-seekers.

Meanwhile, Humaidan, in his opening speech, said job fairs reflected the market’s ability to create more work opportunities for citizens.

“The career fairs organised by the Labour Ministry in various governorates contribute in keeping track of the number of job-seekers,” he said.

“These platforms also help in boosting the Bahrainisation policy and in promoting the private-sector companies to job-seekers.”

Humaidan was accompanied by Labour Ministry Under-Secretary Sabah Al Dossary, Labour Affairs assistant under-secretary Dr Mohammed Al Ansari, Northern Governor Ali bin Al Shaikh Abdul Hussain Al Asfoor, LuLu Hypermarket regional director Juzer Rupawala and other officials.

This job fair is part of our commitment to the community – powered by the vision of the group managing director Yusuffali M A.,” said Rupawala.

The GDN earlier reported on the two-year National Employment and Training Scheme, which aims to employ and train 10,000 Bahraini job-seekers.

It was launched last year and will target 4,000 university degree holders, 2,000 diploma holders and 4,000 secondary education certificate holders.

Companies taking part in the fair, which ends today, include Batelco, Intercol, Coca-Cola, AJM Kooheji Group, Zayani Motors, Jawad Group, Red Tag, Nestle, Leaders, Mednet and Secure Me Security. - TradeArabia News Service