Labour Market Regulatory Authority
First Objective: Promoting the Creation of Employment for Citizens
A- Harmonising education outputs with the needs of the labour market and strengthening the infrastructure for technical and vocational training
The Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training, headed by Deputy Prime Minister His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, is working to implement initiatives to achieve substantial progress in education and training. These sectors benefit from solid infrastructure, accompanied by enacting laws and mechanisms for supervising the performance of educational and training institutions.
One of the main initiatives of the Council is to develop and implement a sustainable plan for post-secondary education. The plan aims to prepare world-class national cadres in accordance with Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030. This is done by modernising the post-secondary education system and raising the performance of relevant sectors to harmonise the outputs of education and training with the needs of the labour market, through close cooperation between the leading stakeholders to provide the necessary support in various fields.
The Council also oversees the implementation of the Employment Skills Platform
. The Platform is an electronic system that provides comprehensive and integrated data on the skills and jobs required by the labour market. It helps formulate future policies for the government and higher education institutions and the development of education outputs to serve the needs of the labour market.
It should be noted that some of the vital projects related to the after-school education plan constitute the infrastructure for vocational and technical training. Their implementation will be linked to the establishment of an independent regulatory entity called Skills Bahrain
. The Supreme Council for the Development of Education and Training has approved the launch of Skills Bahrain
, in a strategic partnership with The Ministry of Labour and Social Development, funded by the Labour Fund (Tamkeen).
B- Making Bahrainis the employees of choice in the private sector
The principal objective of the plan is to ensure that the training, skill development, and employment prospects of Bahraini citizens are prioritised. Increasing the economic participation of Bahraini citizens is crucial to ensuring state agencies sustainable development efforts are successful. The purpose of all decision-making, programmes, and operational plans is to assist with achieving this goal.
C- Developing the recruitment of skilled expatriates
The plan calls for the adoption of a framework that favours expatriate workers with the necessary skills, experiences, and talents that the Kingdom's labour market demands. This framework will establish a gradual and selective process for the recruitment of expatriate workers, prioritising those who fill a skills shortage in the labour market. The use of this framework shall ensure that expatriate workers are recruited to augment the skills of national workers rather than to replace them. More comprehensive options for residency under personal sponsorship will facilitate this change.