23-05-2025
Tamkeen, World Bank shape workforce reform
TDT | Manama
Tamkeen and the World Bank held a three-day workshop in Manama aimed at aligning Bahrain's labour market strategies with global trends and challenges. The event brought together 55 professionals from major ministries and economic bodies, highlighting the need for inter-ministerial coordination in workforce reform and upskilling initiatives.
The sessions covered training, labour policies, and economic inclusion of women, featuring discussions led by local officials and World Bank experts. The workshop was designed to create a shared understanding of how Bahrain can enhance its labour market resilience through policy innovation and collaboration.
Collaborative Insights Alya Alaali, Chief Strategy & Data Analytics Officer at Tamkeen, noted that the initiative underscored Bahrain's efforts to benchmark its employment policies against international standards. 'Initiatives like this significantly enhance our understanding of the labour market and the ongoing changes within it,' she said, emphasising Tamkeen's focus on shaping evidence-based decisions.
She also pointed to the role of such workshops in strengthening ties between government entities, forming part of Tamkeen's broader strategy to support Bahrain's labour ecosystem.
World Bank Perspective
The World Bank's GCC Country Director, Safaa El-Tayeb El-Kogali, highlighted the value of technical collaboration and knowledge sharing in the reform process. 'This joint inter-ministerial labour market workshop has served as an invaluable platform for exchanging insights on labour market trends, challenges, and policy solutions,' she said.
She noted that jobs are now a core priority for the World Bank's development agenda, and that such joint platforms are timely for countries looking to modernise their employment strategies.
Path to Reform
Participants included representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Sustainable Development, LMRA, EDB and others, making the event a key policy convergence point. Sessions touched on economic inclusion, regulatory frameworks, and future skills, reinforcing Bahrain's ambition to build a resilient and adaptive labour market.
