05-04-2021

His Excellency the Minister of Labour and Social Development, Mr. Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, affirmed that the esteemed Government, headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, may God protect him, has made substantial progress in narrowing the gap between education outcomes and labour market requirements. This has been achieved through a series of targeted measures and initiatives to enhance education and training policies and systems, in line with ongoing developments in the labour market and its increasing demand for skilled individuals to fill modern and qualitative roles offered by the private sector. This came during a speech delivered by Humaidan while patronising “the 8th Virtual Forum and Job Fair”, organised by the University of Applied Sciences via videoconferencing yesterday, Sunday. The event was attended by the Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, Dr. Waheeb Ahmed Al Khaja, the President of the University, Dr. Ghassan Fouad Awad, as well as representatives from 26 entities across the public and private sectors, in addition to a number of academics and officials from the Ministry of Labour and Social Development. His Excellency called on students to make informed decisions regarding their choice of academic specialisations, aligning them with current labour market demands. He urged them to stay abreast of developments in qualitative employment opportunities and to take advantage of the upcoming skills platform to be launched by the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, which will offer comprehensive information to students and parents about labour market trends. In this context, he underlined the responsibility of private educational institutions in creating sustainable opportunities to advance their education and training systems in response to the rapid and continuous technical and technological transformations occurring in the labour market. He also praised the role of specialised forums and events in enhancing professional awareness among students. For his part, Dr. Ghassan Fouad Awad stated that this year’s forum builds on the success of its previous editions in achieving their objectives, particularly by strengthening direct engagement between students, employers, and human resources professionals. He reiterated the University’s commitment to equipping the labour market in the Kingdom of Bahrain with qualified graduates across various productive and economic sectors. He further stressed the significance of career guidance and counselling in helping students make informed choices about their future career paths. This year’s forum addressed several key topics with the participation of specialists in human resources and recruitment. Discussions covered qualification programmes for new graduates and jobseekers, the future of employment, and career development in the evolving labour market. Participating organisations also showcased their employment opportunities for university students and graduates through the virtual career fair.