The greatest and most valuable asset for any country is a highly qualified and well trained labour force that can use the potential available to achieve the most impressive productivity levels.

Based on this premise, the Kingdom of Bahrain is drawing on the competence and aptitudes of its people to move forward to build an outstandingly vibrant society and achieve a remarkably successful economy.

Looking after the rights and interests of workers and employees is not something new in Bahrain. In the early years of the last century, Bahrain adopted modern administrative and management systems which coincided with the launch of formal education in the country.

In 1919, the first municipality was formed in Bahrain and was soon followed by a number of civil institutions and offices to look after the citizens' vital interests such as education, health and customs.

The discovery of oil profoundly changed Bahrain's economy and social demography, and the state promptly set out to create employment opportunities by adhering to an economy policy based on the diversification of sources of income and means of production.

The economic and industrial growth in the post-oil era has led to the emergence of a professional class that is well qualified and keen preserving and consolidating workers' interests and enhanced training levels.

In 1955, the employment bureau was set up to help citizens find jobs. It offered free services to all those who were seeking employment. But in 1957 and with the increase in the number of job seekers, the bureau was transformed into a government directorate and a labor law draft and a labor compensation law were prepared.

With the appointment of Shaikh Ali bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa as president of the labor department, new legislation was introduced and existing laws were amended to better address labor issues and cases.

In February 1966, Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Hamad was appointed as president of the labor department, and in 1970, Jawad Salem Al Arayyedh was named minister of labor and social affairs and member on the State Council.

Ibrahim Mohammed Humaidan was appointed minister of labor and social affairs in the first government after the independence in 1971.

Since its formation the ministry of labor and social affairs has been steadily and diligently exerting efforts to encourage citizens to seize all the employment opportunities, improve productivity levels and achieving work stability. The ministry has also continuously sought to create new jobs and to integrate Bahraini nations in the labor market.

In line with the policy of the state to boost the capabilities of the human resources and to prepare the younger generations for new practical and technological developments, the ministry set up separate and specialized directorates and divisions to look after the interests of labor and laborers and to ameliorate social care standards.

In 1975, the vocational training institute was established to implement the training policies endorsed by the government to help prepare job-seekers and school leavers for the requirements of the labor market. The institute was renamed the Bahrain Training Institute in 1991.

The Bahrain Training Institute is part of the Ministry of Labor and adheres to the policies of the Higher Council of Vocational Training chaired by the minister of labor.

The board of the institute is made up of representatives from the government, business people and employees and is chaired by the Ministry of Labor Assistant Undersecretary for Training. The board determines the policies of the institute, approves its programs and monitors its performance.

The institute offers internationally-recognized training programs and helps trainees boost their skills, improve their aptitudes and gain valuable insights into the latest developments in their specialization fields.

Around 800 trainees graduate annually from the institute, with most of them integrating in the labor market within three months of their graduation thanks to their high competence levels.

The Bahrain Training Institute has several cooperation agreements and accords with local and international establishments that secure new training programs and employment opportunities for the graduates.

The institute was given the Outstanding Institute Certificate for the second time in three years from the British Qualifications Commission, a remarkable feat at the level of the institutes that apply the EREXEL programs. The institute also signed a quality partnership agreement that made it in charge of supervising the quality of the application of the commission in Bahrain.

The strategy of the Ministry of Labor to develop the labor force is based on the partnership between the three sources of production, the government, the employers and the employee, as well as with the training institutions and the trainees.

The training department at the Ministry of labor coordinates between the three sources of production through monitoring their training plans and programs that meet the needs of the private sector, and ensuring that they are within the existing legislation and within the allocated budgets.

The Human Resources Development Directorate which was established in 1978 is entrusted with monitoring the implementation of the policies and plans related to vocational training and human resources that are approved by the Higher Council for Vocational Training. This interest by the ministry in training and human resources development aims at boosting competence and skills to meet the requirements of advanced technology and integrating local nationals in the labor market.

The ministry started in 2003 a development program to use information technology to improve its tasks and transactions and offer the best services and options to those who interact with its personnel.

This development program provides central data that eliminates clashes in information and reduces the possibilities for flouting rules either by the people benefiting from the ministry services or by those who work within the ministry.

The development program includes several projects to enhance the infrastructure of the ministry, establish unified database, build an intranet, develop the employment office systems, linking bureaus with the e-ministry and the electronic archives and consolidating the project to support labor market data.

The Ministry of Labor is keen on improving its labor legislation to meet the requirements of international progress and development. Such a drive is a remarkable addition to the labor legislation in Bahrain.

The Ministry of Labor has fully supported the project to reform the labor market which was initiated by the Crown Prince to find far-reaching solutions to the deficiencies, limit the problem of unemployment and make Bahrainis the favorite choice of employers in the private sector after adequately training them to compete with expatriates.

The Ministry of Labor submitted in 2003 the Unemployment Insurance Project to the Cabinet. The Law was issued in November, 2006 after it was approved by the Cabinet.

As part of Bahrain's leaders to help the citizens live in dignity and to address the unemployment problem, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordered the allocation of a 30 million Bahraini Dinars budget to train and employ jobseekers. The decision was a strategic choice that has human, social and economic impact on thousands of families.

To implement such a project and ensure that its objectives are achieved, the ministry has adopted a scientific and practical approach. It used a thorough and realistic analysis of the data on the character of the jobseekers and the employment opportunities to decide on the required vocational training.

 The national employment project aims at providing jobs for 20,000 Bahraini nationals by offering high-quality and specialized training program that match the skills of the jobseekers and the requirements of the labor market while taking in consideration expected salaries.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is steadily moving forward in its commitment to develop its human resources and create generations capable of assimilating and using the latest scientific and technology developments. Such progress will allow them to contribute effectively to assuming their responsibilities in the far-reaching development process in the Kingdom of Bahrain.