Tamkeen concludes operational plan consultation workshops

Tamkeen hosted today (Oct 7) the fourth and final consultation workshop at the Crowne Plaza hotel, as part of its efforts to directly engage with the public. Through the workshops, Tamkeen aims to share its current and planned projects, as well as listening to the public’s feedback and integrating it within future plans. 

The workshop, which was attended by around 80 people, is part of a series of workshops held over 4 days with representatives from the various economic sectors in Bahrain, with two days allocated to business owners and two days to individuals. 

Each day of workshops involves in-depth discussions over the issues and challenges faced by businesses and individuals faced by each sector, followed by presenting recommended solutions on how to overcome those challenges and developing Tamkeen’s programmes and services accordingly. 

Some of the chief general issues highlighted by the audience included the level of basic soft skills, particularly among fresh graduates, shortage of young Bahrainis in the technical and vocational fields, matching academic learning and actual job market needs, and underdeveloped career guidance functions in schools. 

With regards to solutions, the audience stressed the need to streamline processes and provide more online application and tracking facilities. They also recommended more youth-oriented initiatives which provide more internship opportunities, soft skills training, and career guidance services. Other suggestions included more human resources management training programmes, support programmes for Bahraini artists, and providing a centralised online portal which offers e-learning resources to support continuous self-development. 

The sectors which attended the workshops included training and education, finance and business services, agriculture and fisheries, manufacturing, oil and gas, telecommunications and ICT, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, real-estate and construction, retail and wholesale trade, food and hospitality, transportation and logistics, media and advertising, government agencies, societies, as well as individuals. 

A separate event is planned before the end of the year to present the 2014 operational plan to the public after its approval from Tamkeen’s Board of Directors.