Job before graduation gown?

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

University students could be assessed for jobs, matched with vacancies and interviewed by employers before they graduate under a new proposal by five MPs.

The proposed “My Opportunity Before I Graduate” programme would begin in a student’s final year, or at least the final semester, with training provided where skills gaps are identified.

The proposal has been submitted by Strategic Thinking Bloc MPs Khalid BuAnaq, Hisham Al Awadhi, Ahmed Al Saloom, Zainab Abdulameer and Mohammed Al Ma’arafi.

Mr BuAnaq, the bloc’s spokesman and lead proposer, said the Labour Ministry, Education Ministry, Higher Education Council, universities, Tamkeen and private companies would work together on the scheme.

“We should start preparing students and linking them with the labour market before graduation,” he said.

Under the plan, universities would identify students approaching graduation and create employment profiles covering their qualifications, skills, experience and preferred jobs, subject to data protection rules.

Students would then be assessed to identify skills they need to develop for available jobs.

Depending on the outcome, they could be offered employment, job-linked training, training for vacancies in demand, or support to start a business.

Short courses involving the Labour Ministry, Tamkeen and employers would provide skills required by companies, while university work placements could also serve as a route into paid employment.

Mr BuAnaq said new graduates enter the labour market every year alongside people who have already been seeking work, potentially increasing the number of jobseekers when the number of entrants exceeds available opportunities.

Figures cited in the proposal show that 26,965 Bahrainis found work in 2025, including 9,149 entering the labour market for the first time. The University of Bahrain recorded 5,783 graduates that year.

The MPs said the figures underline the need to begin preparing students for employment before they graduate.

Under the proposed division of responsibilities, the Education Ministry, Higher Education Council and universities would prepare students for employment, while the Labour Ministry would match them with vacancies.

Tamkeen would support training, with private companies identifying vacancies, offering placements and recruiting graduates.

The scheme’s performance would be measured by how many graduates secure their first job within three, six and 12 months, how long they remain employed and whether their jobs match their degrees or related fields.

Mr BuAnaq said the aim was to reduce the time graduates spend seeking their first job.

“We seek to open the door to the labour market while students are still at university,” he said.