business bites www.bahrainthismonth.com 54 February 2023 Bahrain Network (BNET) has launched the ‘Itqan’ professional programme that aims to improve the accuracy and efficiency of fiber optic network services delivery in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The programme aims to ensure the security of the telecommunications infrastructure and raise the level of readiness by proactively verifying the accuracy and efficiency of records and systems of the fibre network. This is in addition to performing detailed physical verification of the fibre network across Bahrain, which will contribute to reducing the potential delays in services delivery. Acting Director of Passive Access Network, Dr. Mohamed Tayeb Mahmood, said: “BNET is eager to provide the telecommunications sector with specialised national expertise through this initiative, with the goal of supporting the initiatives of the economic recovery plan for telecommunications by increasing the percentage of Bahrainisation.” BNET is keen on training a team of 40 Bahraini engineering graduates through this programme, in order to enrich their knowledge, provide them with practical training, and develop skills that will contribute to the development of the Bahraini youth’s skills so they may be ready to assume leadership positions in the future. BNET Launches ‘Itqan’ Professional Programme The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) held a press conference to showcase the key achievements from the previous year and strategic priorities for 2023. Chief Growth Officer at Tamkeen, Qusay Alarayedh, highlighted the key achievements from the previous year. “Tamkeen supported 4,000 enterprises of all sizes across various sectors through all the programmes, whereby 57 percent of enterprises supported were new enterprises, 48 percent of enterprises supported were SMEs, and 71 percent of enterprises were supported for training and employment of Bahrainis,” stated Mr. Alarayedh. “We adopted a proactive approach to attract applications from high potential businesses which led to an increase of 21 percent in high value jobs in comparision to the year before. This included supporting over 10,000 job opportunities and over 8,400 training opportunities for Bahrainis to increase their participation in the labour market, and an increase of 29 percent in professional certification beneficiaries compared to the previous year. The percentage of women who received employment support increased to 56 percent of all those supported,” he added. Commenting on Tamkeen’s performance in 2022, Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), Maha Mofeez, said: “We operate as part of a comprehensive ecosystem that works to achieve national goals in line with the economic recovery priorities as directed by the esteemed government under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.” “Last year we worked on implementing a comprehensive organisation-wide transformation plan that included setting key performance indicators and designing new programmes while restructuring the support in each programme. As part of the transformation, we also proactively identified high potential economic opportunities and focused on driving productivity in projects that carried greater economic impact,” she added. Tamkeen intends to focus on four key priorities in 2023 to develop the labour market in alignment with the government programme and the recommendations of the economic recovery plan. These sectors include facilitating increased economic participation of Bahrainis; providing training that is aligned with the labour market needs of new and emerging skills; supporting enterprise development; and supporting ecosystem development. Tamkeen Presents 2023 Strategic Plan
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