Worried about what changes at Tamkeen might mean for the future? They have reassurances for you…and some very pleasant surprises in store.
Thank you for this meeting. Could you please let us know who you are and what you do?
Ali: My name is Ali Hassan, Manager of Operations Performance Management at Tamkeen. Our role is to manage and coordinate operations performance management and decision support activities for the operations at Tamkeen. Through which we assure that operations activities are focused, aligned, efficient and effective, as well as setting priorities for operations improvements activities using a data-driven strategies.
Our focus is the customers and their journey with us, whether they are an enterprise or an individual its all about them and their development needs.
How does the operations department focus on training and development?
Ali: Tamkeen’s 2015 – 2017 strategy has defined 3 major segments which will be served in relation to the Bahraini human capital. The segments were based on a group of customers with similar needs and concerns and they are Students, Job Seekers and Employees.
A few examples for the Students segment are the work ethics development project (A9eel), the ongoing business plan competition (Mashroo3i), and others. For the Job Seekers we have the Basic Skills scheme and Employment Initiatives in cooperation with private sector firms. We serve the Employees through the Training and Wage Support and International Placement services offered in the Enterprise Support Programme. At the same time we have a cross segment programmes that support and serve all segments such as Tamkeen Professional Certifications Support Scheme.
THE WAGE SUPPORT PROVIDED WILL BE FOR A PERIOD OF 24 MONTHS AND WILL BE DETERMINED THROUGH A TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS FOR EACH EMPLOYEE.
Husain, would you mind telling us why you applied to Tamkeen’s Professional Certifications Scheme?
Husain: My name is Husain Ali Alaam, I’m 23 years old and I applied for the scheme to expand my technical knowledge and skills and to become certified in Cloud Computing as it is something being used by companies globally.
I believe professional certificates are very valuable in my field (IT and Software Development), as they help provide more credibility.
How did this certification help you with your career?
Husain: I’ve done two certifications so far, CompTIA Cloud Essentials and ITIL Foundation V3. The Cloud Essentials certificate gave me an in-depth knowledge about cloud computing and cloud environments. The ITIL helped me better understand how IT services are developed and maintained.
Ali: We also have the Training and Wage Support which is also part of the Enterprise Support as it provides companies with financial assistance in the form of training and wage support (subsidy for new employees, increment for existing employees). The training must be completed within 12 months and the wage support provided will be for a period of 24 months and will be determined through a Training Needs Analysis for each employee in agreement with the enterprise.
We also offer International Placements which aim to support employers in the private sector to improve their productivity by encouraging the growth of their own employees through exposure to international work experience. The initiative targets candidates in all of Bahrain’s most prominent sectors, to ensure a wide range of beneficiaries and to create a versatile Bahraini workforce. The support from Tamkeen will be covering 80% of monthly salary, flights, visa, medical insurance and settlement costs for a duration of 2 to 12 months. That was an excellent overview, and brings us to the big change that happened with the levy. Could you please briefly explain what happened, and why are people talking about this right now?
Following a Royal Decree issued on the 6th of October 2015, the responsibilities of the Supreme Council for Vocational Training have been transferred to Tamkeen. As part of the transfer, the 4% annual fee paid by private sector institutions in return for training services has been cancelled. As a result, Tamkeen now is the leading entity for delivering training to private sector employees.
When this happened, people were confused and had concerns. One, was that companies would no longer feel incentivised to train their employees. How can Tamkeen help to encourage enterprises, now that they no longer have this incentive?
Ali: If the company sees the value of training, they will do it, whether it is sponsored by the government or not. Why? If I know that sending my staff to training will increase my productivity and thus increase my profit, income, and market share, I will do that.
Are you saying that since 40% of the levy budget was utilised, 60% wasn’t, which means that a lot of enterprises were paying and not doing their part?
Ali: Yes, the low utilisation of the available funds tells and confirm the same.
Could this affect Bahrainisation over the long term?
Amal: Hi, I’m Amal Sorani, a Marketing Communications Officer. I think this structure will eventually help Bahrainisation. We believe that the support we’re offering will grow and take care of itself. We believe that when you provide basic skills, training, and all of the necessary equipment and tools, you will end up with a robust, dynamic private sector that will carry the whole economy and become the engine of growth.
Ali: We are here to up-skill Bahrainins and make them competent and the choice for the private sector firms. We aren’t here to force Bahrainis on the private sectors rather than offer skilled and competent Bahrainis to add to the productivity of firms and the overall economy.
Amal: We vouch for that. We are here not to increase Bahrainisation, but to increase the skills of Bahrainis. Then Bahrainisation will happen automatically.
I believe with this new change, Tamkeen would be able to support one employee, and Bahrainis too.
Ali: Yes, lets take a look on the effect of this on the key stakeholders (government, private sector enterprises and the employees), there are now 1 government entity for delivering training to private sector employees, Enterprises used to pay the 4% levy; now they don’t and now all employees in the private sectors are eligible for training and development support.
WE WILL CONTINUE FUNDING JOB SEEKERS AND STUDENTS WHO WERE BEING FUNDED BY THE HIGH COUNCIL FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING.
Do you think this change will affect beneficiaries negatively, as some fear?
Ali: We will continue supporting Bahrainis development in the private sectors and we will build on the achievements of the councils. We will continue funding Job Seekers and Students who were being funded by the High Council for Vocational Training. At the end, training support won’t be affected nor will anyone in the classroom today.
It seems that the biggest beneficiaries or stakeholders affected were obviously the institutes?
Ali: It’s the same. The total expenditure or investment that the higher council was putting into the market was 5 million, if I’m not mistaken, per year. And we do 13-14 million, on average. We have clear directions that if it is the demand of the enterprise and the private sector, we are willing to pay more. We are willing to compensate for the role of the High Council through our strategy. .
An institute that trains well will remain and grow. Enterprises look to their competitors. The cycle of training will not stop, it will continue with Tamkeen.
How can Tamkeen make Bahrainis the ultimate choice for enterprises in the private sector?
Ali: We aim to develop Bahrainis and prepare them for the labor market and make them the employees of choice, we will invest in the development of their skills and competencies, we will support enterprises in their specific staff training and development needs, we will pay up to 50% of their salaries as a wage support for 24 months, we will support international placement to gain international exposure and instill best practices, we are here to make them the employer choice and we will!
What is Tamkeen doing to bust the myths around this and promote the right information?
Ali: We are in constant communication with the public through press releases and the media. We have our public forums, focus groups, gatherings, public briefings, meetings and through Start Up Bahrain of course!
Thank you for this.