'Tamkeen' heralds new identikit for Labour Fund

The Arabic word, which means to empower and enable, is accompanied by a new logo that uses the flying pennants of the old logo as a foundation to create a swirl of colour and movement denoting progress, optimism and continuous progress.

In an official statement to announce the new persona of the agency, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chairman of Tamkeen, Dr. Nezar Al Baharna said the new identikit was the result of an expansion in its role, as it built upon the success of its first two (2) years in operation.

"The Labour Fund was founded to complement the vision of the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain and provide resources that would enable the private sector - to stay abreast of the latest technological, administrative and HR practices in the world, thereby competing with the best,"

Dr. Al Baharna said.

"Our other goal is to identify skills gaps and employment opportunities and provide training to equip young Bahrainis to take their rightful place in the national, regional and ultimately, the global employment grid. We review our strategies periodically and develop our scope accordingly."

He continued, "The move to make ourselves known as Tamkeen arises out of the increasing clarity that we are bringing to our work as enablers and empowering agents of social and economic progress in Bahrain. The new name embraces these core values that the Labour Fund stands for and is a clear indicator of the direction in which we are going."

Backed by meticulous research that identifies personnel shortfall in different fields, the Labour Fund's Human Capital Development Division has launched a series of initiatives such as Specialised Skills Gaps Training Programmes, a Career Progression Programme, a Talent Management Programme, and is working closely with the Ministry of Social Development and the Supreme Council for Women to enable and empower individuals with special needs and women to enter the Bahraini labour force with confidence.

Tamkeen's Acting Chief Executive Mr. Abdulellah Al Qassimi, said, "to date more than 1635 Bahrainis have entered the training cycle for various sectors such as health care, aeronautics, hospitality, accounting and finance, retail, IT and HR professional programmes.

Private sector companies have worked with Tamkeen to benefit from its EDS (Enterprise Development Support) which enables SMEs to access high-quality consultancy services and restructure and absorb new technology and administrative practices. The EDS Programme is a package of four innovative schemes that come together with the core goal of assisting and supporting SMEs. Comprising of the Business Information Scheme, the Business Development Scheme, Technical Assistance Programme and the Growth Assistance Programme, the EDS Programme aims to help SMEs enhance their productivity and to enable them to develop and grow while providing high quality jobs to Bahrainis. With more than 779 companies benefitting from the EDS programe, Tamkeen (the Labour Fund) has invested around BD3m."

A third facet of the developmental work is partnering SMEs in boosting growth through financing. Tamkeen has developed an array of venture capital and low-interest entrepreneurship loans with financial institutions to facilitate strengthening of SMEs and start-up operations.