Shura to Debate Graduate Training Rule for Big Firms

TDT | Manama

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Big employers in Bahrain would be put under a legal duty to train university graduates for at least three months under a bill due before the Shura Council on Sunday.

The draft would add a new Article 16 bis to Law No. 17 of 2007 on vocational training. Under the committee’s amended wording, employers with 50 workers or more would have to train graduates nominated each year by the Labour Ministry at a rate of one trainee for every 50 workers, under terms to be laid down by ministerial decision.

That change is the key rewrite. The first draft had placed more detail in the law itself, including the number of trainees, the rules for nomination, trainee benefits, follow-up of training schemes and the state’s share of the cost. The Services Committee chose instead to keep the duty plain in the law and leave the rules to the minister.

The committee tied the case for the bill to Labour Ministry figures for 2025, which showed 15,433 jobseekers, with university graduates making up 69pc of them. It said that pointed to the scale of the issue and the need for a direct legal duty aimed at helping graduates move from study into work.

It argued that training is a needed step before employment, giving graduates work skills and first-hand experience that can help them into private sector jobs. The committee also said the bill does not simply repeat the current law, which already places a general duty on employers to train jobseekers, because the new text would place a clear duty on larger businesses towards university graduates in particular.

The amended wording, the committee said, follows settled legislative drafting practice by putting the main duty in the law and leaving the rest to executive rules. In its view, that would avoid overlap in the text and give the scheme room to shift with labour market needs.

The bill itself grew from a Shura Council proposal and is meant to press larger employers to play a part in putting Bahraini graduates into work. The committee said that focus on graduates was warranted because they face a distinct step between university and working life, when academic study often needs to be matched by hands-on work.

The Labour Ministry and the Labour Fund, Tamkeen, did not object to the aim, but both told the committee they agreed with the government memorandum calling for the draft to be looked at again in light of training schemes already in place.

In a letter dated 17 March 2026, the ministry said it already works with other bodies under a national framework meant to match training output with labour market demand and raise the skill level of Bahraini workers. In step with Tamkeen, it said, it offers free training schemes for jobseekers linked to shifts in market demand.

The ministry added that trainees can receive unemployment insurance payments during training of BD200 for university graduates and BD150 for non-graduates, subject to the terms of the law. It also said it is widening access through an online platform where registered jobseekers can view training openings, apply for places that suit their qualifications, track their nomination status and see results updated by employers or training centres.

Tamkeen, in a letter dated 11 March 2026, said its founding law already gives it a role in helping the private sector grow, raising the skill and output of Bahraini workers, strengthening their standing in the jobs market and helping create suitable openings. It said it already runs schemes for private sector employers and eligible Bahrainis aimed at training, qualification and skill development.

The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions told the committee it supports the bill.

After reviewing the draft, the views of the bodies concerned, Parliament’s decision and the opinion of Shura’s Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee, which found the bill sound in constitutional and legal terms, the Services Committee recommended approval in principle and approval of the articles in their amended form.