Labour Minister in an open meeting on the "Future Betting" Program

09-08-2023

H.E. Mr. Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, Minister of Labour, pointed to the pivotal role of youth in the development policies pursued by the Kingdom of Bahrain under the leadership of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the follow-up of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, towards empowering Bahraini youth and giving them more quality opportunities in the labour market. The aim is to enhance the role of youth in the comprehensive development process witnessed by Bahrain in this prosperous era, as youth are the main pillar in this march and bet on it to continue building and preserving national gains and achievements. This came during the open meeting of His Excellency the Minister of Labour with a group of Bahraini youth participating in the second phase of the "Future Bet" program. The discussion is organised by the Bahrain Institute for Political Development in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, on Wednesday in the main hall of the ministry building. Humaidan expressed his thanks to the Bahrain Institute for Political Development for this qualitative initiative that enhances communication between Bahraini youth and officials. This initiative aims to exchange ideas and visions on the aspirations of young people and the public policies implemented by the government that give them priority as a workforce contributing to the progress of the Kingdom. Humaidan emphasised the importance of informing Bahraini youth about the development paths witnessed by Bahrain to sustain growth in various fields, foremost of which is the labour market, and to benefit from the energies, skills and academic qualifications of young people in promoting this process. The minister reviewed the efforts to develop the labour market and create the appropriate and attractive environment for young people, and the tireless efforts towards attracting more investments that generate more promising job opportunities for citizens. He also indicated that the Ministry of Labour is working in partnership with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority and the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), especially with regard to qualifying and integrating citizens into private sector establishments. This partnership is in line with the government's program for the years 2023-2026 and the Economic Recovery Plan 2021-2024, which includes five main initiatives, foremost of which is the initiative to create promising job opportunities to make Bahrainis the first choice in the labour market, which aims to employ 20,000 and train 10,000 job seekers annually until 2024, and the National Labour Market Plan 2023-2026. The Labour Minister touched on the programs and projects implemented by the ministry to accelerate the pace of employment and rehabilitate citizens to integrate them into the labour market through advanced professional training, granting incentives and benefits to job seekers and employers. This is carried out through free training and rehabilitation, supporting the wages of the national workforce, as well as strengthening social protection for job seekers via the unemployment benefit system. After that, Humaidan called on the young participants to select university specialisation required in the labour market by visiting the ministry’s website to learn about the latest labour-related services. Thereon, the minister said the ministry has succeeded in finding solutions for job-seekers who confront employment difficulties. The participating youth expressed their thanks for all the efforts made by the ministry in rehabilitating and employing citizens in the labour market, which reflects the government's continuous keenness in ensuring quality opportunities for the job seekers to start a promising career in various productive sectors, including future jobs. The participants also put forward ideas and proposals that enhance the success of policies to integrate Bahraini youth in private sector enterprises. This session comes within the second phase of the Future Betting Program. Where the first phase came by providing a number of training courses and workshops on various topics related to politics, economics and human rights values, in addition to some leadership and media skills to develop the participating youth. The second phase (current) includes a number of panel discussions between participants with some ministers and officials in the state to discuss various topics. The program will conclude with the third phase later, which is the "Creative Proposals and Initiatives" phase. In the next phase participants will be divided into several groups in order to present creative proposals and initiatives to promote societal national values and raise political awareness.