THE Civil Service Commission is actively working to train Bahrainis for public sector jobs and reduce dependence on foreign labour within the next three to five years, MPs heard.
Commission Chief Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa said a gradual and strategic approach was being adopted to ensure sustainable and effective replacement processes across various sectors, particularly health and education.
He pointed out that the commission strictly adhered to the constitutional and legal provisions related to public sector employment.
“All recruitment processes comply with existing laws and regulations,” Shaikh Daij said, in response to questions by a parliamentary committee that investigated Bahrainisation rates in the public sector last year.
“We oversee employment processes to ensure compliance with applicable laws, including vacancy announcements and recruitment procedures.
“In the commission, there are seven foreign employees, mainly in IT and legal departments, with a commitment to training Bahrainis in these fields.
“In general, we are committed to Bahrainisation across all ministries and government agencies, making citizens the primary choice for employment. There are plans to replace expatriates within three to five years in order to make it happen.”
Shaikh Daij said Bahrainis constituted 82 per cent of the total workforce in the public sector.
“We are focused on preparing and training citizens before replacing expatriate employees,” he added.
“Recruitment criteria vary based on job requirements and all qualifications and standards are outlined in advertisements.
“Employment contracts for expatriates also include provisions requiring them to train Bahraini employees for eventual replacement.”
Shaikh Daij pointed out that the number of Bahrainis in the public sector had decreased to 41,000 following the launch of a voluntary retirement programme in 2019. Foreign employees numbered 6,390, accounting for 16pc of the workforce.
“The number of foreign workers in the public sector also decreased by 15pc between 2019 and the end of 2023, with approximately 7,000 expats in various departments in 2019,” he said.
“There are currently 60 foreign consultants in government agencies.
“90pc of expatriates in the public sector are primarily employed in health and education.
“However, complete replacement of expatriates has been achieved in primary healthcare centers.”
The commission chief stressed that gradual replacement of foreign workers was necessary to maintain workflow continuity.
“Over 14,000 employment requests are registered in the commission’s database,” said Shaikh Daij.
“These are studied and proposed to relevant entities based on need. Priority is given to older applications, but final hiring decisions rest with the respective government entity. Renewals for foreign workers are contingent upon interviews and assessments of qualified Bahraini candidates.”
He explained that temporary contracts are given to Bahraini employees undergoing training, while providing the same benefits as permanent employees.
“Vacancies are announced through the government’s job system Shawagir and further reviewed to ensure no qualified Bahraini candidates are overlooked.
“Expatriates are only hired after confirming no qualified Bahrainis are available.”
He said 6,063 expat employees were hired for general civil service jobs between 2020 and November 2023. A total of 3,525 are in education, 2,157 health, 417 engineering, 231 technical and 60 consultancy.
The committee compiled the report after holding meetings with 74 ministries, government agencies and state-owned companies.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))