Tamkeen and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have signed an agreement to launch ‘Bahrain Skills and Gender Parity Accelerator’ during a ceremony in Davos, Switzerland.
Isa Bin Salman Education Charitable Trust Board of Trustees chairman and Tamkeen Board of Directors chairman Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa attended the event as he headed Bahrain’s delegation to the WEF 55th annual meeting, which included Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
The agreement, which aims to address labour market skill gaps and reshape the future of the economy, was signed by Sustainable Development Minister, Bahrain Economic Development Board chief executive and Tamkeen board member Noor Al Khulaif.
Shaikh Isa emphasised the importance of upskilling and reskilling the national workforce to ensure they remain the first choice for employment opportunities.
“Rapid technological advancements across various sectors are opening significant new avenues for Bahraini talent,” he said, stressing the need to adapt to these changes. “Leveraging research-driven approaches in designing training programmes is key to the success and sustainability of these initiatives.”
He also praised the role of international partnerships in fostering high-quality training and development efforts, bolstering the competitiveness of Bahrain’s workforce on a global scale.
Ms Al Khulaif highlighted Bahrain’s strategic regional and global partnerships, aimed at facilitating cross-border trade and knowledge exchange and fostering a prosperous future for all.
“The accelerator builds on ongoing national efforts to build a skilled and future-ready talent pool and serves as a blueprint for other nations to promote gender parity.”
Tamkeen CEO Maha Mofeez said: “This strategic partnership with WEF is aligned with Tamkeen’s commitment to bolstering private sector growth, fostering an enabling environment where Bahrainis are the employees of choice in the labour market, and advancing women’s participation in the private sector.
“Tamkeen remains dedicated to comprehensive labour market development by adopting a research and data-driven approach that utilises labour market data to design initiatives in collaboration with various enterprises. These efforts aim to foster equal opportunities for all, especially in digital and tech fields, to ensure sustainable growth in Bahrain,” she added.
Sriram Gutta, engagement and operations head and executive committee member at the WEF, said, “Building on the success of our initial cycle, which mobilised more than $2.5 million in funding and resulted in more than 54,500+ individuals trained, we will continue our collaboration to drive further progress on reskilling and upskilling in Bahrain. Our second cycle of work will have focus on increasing gender parity in high growth sectors. The Bahrain accelerator joins a network of more than 35 accelerators championing transformative, local initiatives in their respective countries.”
The accelerator, co-ordinated by Tamkeen’s Skills Bahrain, will operate through a multi-stakeholder partnership model. Collaborations with private-sector leaders and WEF’s global research will guide subsequent phases of the launch, providing cross-sector insights to address current and future gender skills gaps.
These efforts will drive the development of an actionable talent development strategy, enhance national skill-building efforts, promote gender parity in the labour market, and solidify Bahrain’s position as a leading talent hub with a future-ready workforce.
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