Tamkeen spends BD23.4m on training of over 17,000 Bahrainis as 5,000 secure jobs

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Tamkeen has said it trained more than 17,000 jobseekers between January 2024 and November 2025 at a cost of about BD23.4 million, as it looked to help Bahrainis into work and raise the skills of the local workforce.

In a reply to a question from MP Basema Mubarak, the Labour Fund said more than 5,000 Bahrainis found jobs after finishing training through Tamkeen-backed hiring and wage support schemes.

Tamkeen said these post-training job figures cover only people hired through its employment support and wage support programmes, and do not include those taken on by the public sector or those hired without such support.

Schemes

It said its employment and wage support schemes, led by the National Employment Programme and the wage support programme, supported more than 40,000 Bahrainis over the same period, with spending topping BD254 million.

More than 6,700 private-sector firms, across different sectors and sizes, also received support.

The fund said its training offer covered jobseeker training, on-the-job training, apprenticeships and other schemes.

To check whether people stay in work after support ends, Tamkeen said its oversight team contacts programme beneficiaries to confirm they are still employed. Based on those who responded, it said 88 per cent of workers backed through the National Employment Programme stayed in their jobs after the support period ended, while 12 per cent did not remain in the same role.

It linked those exits to moves into government jobs, job changes within the private sector, and the end of fixed-term contracts.

Tamkeen said complaints linked to pressure to resign, along with reports of unfair dismissal, are referred to the Ministry of Labour for investigation and verification, with the usual steps taken where unfair dismissal is proven.

The fund said it deals with breaches based on their type.

Violations

Administrative breaches, such as breaking support rules or its own policies, are handled under its approved violations bylaw for suppliers and beneficiaries, with penalties that can include recovery of funds, a ban on receiving support for a set period, or both.

Cases with suspected criminal elements—such as illegal or fictitious hiring, or wage manipulation—are referred to the bodies in charge, while Tamkeen said it keeps the right to apply administrative penalties once those bodies issue a decision.

It said it detects cases through inspections, refers proven cases to the Public Prosecution, recovers support sums, and bars offending firms from future support.

Breaches

It added that all breaches fall under the violations bylaw, which lists offences and the penalties tied to them.

Tamkeen said its oversight department works to protect Bahraini workers from unfair dismissal by requiring firms to follow Bahrain’s labour law.

Where unfair dismissal is confirmed by the Ministry of Labour or the labour courts, it said the fund can recover support or bar the firm from further support, in line with the violations bylaw.