The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) held its third Board of Directors meeting to oversee the progress of the implementation of the strategic plan and ongoing operations during the third quarter of 2022.

His Excellency Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Directors emphasized Tamkeen’s alignment with the vision and priorities outlined by the government in the Economic Recovery Plan and the national strategies that relate to it, further highlighting Tamkeen’s role alongside members of Team Bahrain in fulfilling these plans.

He added: “we established a set of key objectives that we are working to fulfill during the current strategic cycle 2021-2025, including creating quality job opportunities by enhancing the digital skills of the national workforce. This is in alignment with Tamkeen’s efforts in supporting the digital transformation of enterprises, encouraging them to grow by innovating in their business models, as well as enhancing their flexibility and agility leading to greater expansion potential”.

During the meeting, the Board of Directors reviewed the latest updates regarding the programs and initiatives, which included a continued increase in the number of new enterprises supported, with the number reaching double the target for 2022 at 1,935 enterprises. The updates also showed an increase in the support for new employment for Bahrainis hitting 75% of the target for the year with over 7,400 jobs. Furthermore, training support for Bahrainis also increased to reach 67% of this year’s target with 6,668 trainees.

Commenting on this progress, Ms. Maha Mofeez, Acting Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) highlighted how these indicators showcase the growing support for individuals and enterprises in accordance with this year’s plan and set the path for achieving this year’s goals.

She added: “these results reflect our commitment to fulfilling our strategic objectives and implementing the plans that were developed to utilize Tamkeen’s support for training and employment opportunities for Bahrainis and to support the growth and sustainability of enterprises and enhance their participation in creating more opportunities for national talent”

In addition, Tamkeen’s management also showcased the recent achievements in relation to this year’s key performance indicators which enabled Tamkeen to achieve a number of global awards and recognitions such as: the Golden Bridge Business and Innovation Awards in its 14^th edition, the Global Business Outlook 2022 award for Women and Youth Support Initiatives, the Best Brand Renovation by International Business Magazine, and the Best Visual Brand Identity from the Public Sector by Global Brand Awards.

The third quarter also saw the launch of the updated version of Mashroo3i as part of the Young Entrepreneur program and a number of strategic partnerships aimed at supporting individuals and enterprises such as: the training of approximately 100 Bahrainis in iOS App Development using swift programming in partnership with Bahrain Polytechnic, hosting the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) National Finals competition for Bahrain in partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) through its local chapter, and the continuing support for the two Cloud Innovation Centers at the University of Bahrain and Bahrain Polytechnic in cooperation with AWS which were launched in 2019.

These initiatives follow the launch of 16 support programs earlier this year as part of Tamkeen’s organization-wide transformation plan which focuses on driving greater impact for the national economy.