Labour Minister announces National Labour Market Plan (2023-2026)

10-07-2023

H.E. Mr. Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, Minister of Labour and Chairman of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, affirmed the interest and keenness of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to sustain the growth of the labour market to generate more jobs in various productive sectors. In response to his wise directives, more horizons have been opened that enhance development paths by developing strategic plans to develop the labour market, providing an attractive work environment for investments, enhancing the economic position of the Kingdom of Bahrain within a business incubator environment, and aligning higher education outputs with the requirements of the labour market. All these initiatives aim to enhance the contributions of the private sector and continue to develop control and regulatory procedures that promote the principles of competitiveness, justice and sustainability, in a way that contributes to raising the standard of living of citizens and preserving their gains. This came in a statement by H.E. the Minister of Labour on the occasion of the Cabinet's approval of the National Labour Market Plan 2023-2026, within the framework of implementing the provisions of Decree-Law No. (21) of 2021 amending some provisions of Law No. (19) of 2006 regarding the regulation of the labour market, through which the Ministry of Labour was tasked with preparing the National Plan for the Labour Market every four years. Humaidan pointed out that the National Labour Market Plan 2023-2026 comes after the completion of 91% of the initiatives of the previous plan 2021-2023, which witnessed an increase in the employment rates of citizens in private sector establishments. The plan also accompanied the economic recovery phase by taking advantage of the growth of the targeted sectors and attracting investments, which led to high employment rates. New support programs were also launched, as well as multiple training and qualification tracks and programs, and wider areas of applied and technical education were opened. The minister indicated that the remaining initiatives will be completed within the current plan, which is based on four strategic objectives that include 30 proposals. He also mentioned the active participation in the preparation of the plan by several government agencies, namely the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Higher Education Council, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), the Social Insurance Organization, the Information and eGovernment Authority, the Education and Training Quality Authority, in addition to the Ministry of Labour. In this context, he expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to these parties for their effective contribution to the formulation of the plan's visions. The Labour Minister highlighted the importance of the current plan and its aims towards creating quality job opportunities for citizens for making them the first choice in the labour market. He also focused on the importance of harmonising education outputs with the needs of the labour market, as well as strengthening partnership with the private sector and developing local and foreign investments in the Kingdom while further reinforcing regulation systems and developing labour legislation that encourage attracting various investments and controlling the movement of workers in the labor market. Humaidan stated that the cooperation of all parties in the public and private sectors is a prerequisite for the success of this plan, in order to ensure stable development in the labour market and to achieve the government's 2023-2026 program of recovery to sustainable growth. In this context, he stressed that the plan would contribute to strengthening cooperation between government agencies to update data, address challenges and monitor indicators through the process of monitoring and evaluation and taking the necessary decisions to support the implementation of all initiatives in the National Labour Market Plan. The Labour Market Plan for the years 2023-2026 includes several axes that contribute to reducing the cost difference between Bahraini and foreign workers and creating more job opportunities for citizens in the private sector. It also contributes to expanding partnerships between the government and the private sector by encouraging institutions and companies to adopt all different types of employment in the labour market in a way that enhances economic participation, such as partial employment, remote work, and others, as well as contributing to the creation of employment opportunities. Accordingly, the Ministryof Labour will work within its programmes to develop and strengthen programmes for the integration of women into the labour market and to enhance the flow of suitable vacancies for females. Through the current plan, the Ministry of Labour and the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) seek to launch initiatives and programs aimed at providing national cadres with the various skills required by the labour market, in order to develop the skills and capabilities of national workers. It also stands firm on expanding the number of rehabilitation programs for job seekers from groups that face difficulty in entering the labour market. It is also keen to align these endeavors with Tamkeen's qualitative training opportunities for new and promising skills related to professional development, and to develop the outputs of private training institutions to keep pace with modern technology and techniques. The plan also includes an important axis through which the government seeks to propose appropriate treatments for education outcomes. The strategy of aligning education outputs with the needs of the labour market comes by reducing the gap and highlighting technical and vocational education in order to achieve a balance between academic and vocational qualification in national human resources. Henceforth, the concerned authorities are developing and implementing an advanced and sustainable plan for post-school education, promoting flexible paths in the education and training phase, and expanding the provision of technical and applied disciplines. This plan also includes the pillar necessary to enhance partnership with the private sector, encourage the investment environment, in order to stimulate productivity and generate abundance of jobs to ensure job stability for citizens in the labour market within the priorities that the government is working to achieve by supporting promotion and development programs for Bahrainis in quality jobs. The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) will launch professional and career development programs in various economic sectors, as well as promote the provision of an enabling environment to attract investments and support the development of small and medium enterprises. In addition, the Labour Fund is determined on providing financing, training, technical consultancy and other services provided by the government to encourage citizens to engage in entrepreneurship. It is very important to strengthen control and regulation towards the current labour market plan through cooperation between various bodies to regulate the presence of foreign workers and their legislation to ensure the stability of the labour market and achieve a balance between Bahraini and foreign workers to increase the flow of employment opportunities for nationals in various economic and commercial sectors. In addition, it develops the current regulatory procedures and legislation, takes all measures aimed at controlling irregular employment, and develops laws and regulations aimed at protecting workers, promoting occupational health and safety in the workplace and improving the quality of life of the workforce.