The Kingdom of Bahrain has taken vital steps towards a labour market reform which is an essential stride to ensure that the human capital of the country is developed and that employment is made more attractive for localization as well as to improve performances of businesses. The strive towards labour reform will impact the Kingdom’s economy and raise standards of living as well as pose a challenging commitment to the improvement of services in Bahrain. The government has forwarded a strong mandate to implement reforms on education and training, labour market and economic systems which are the backbone to success and prosperity of any nation. The labour reform is the first of these reforms to be initiated and is now the responsibility of two entities. The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) and Tamkeen will be working hand in hand with other institutions and organisations in order to realize the vision that has been set forth to create the long-term prosperity the Kingdom plans to achieve. Tamkeen is a semi-autonomous yet independent authority which formulates strategic and operational plans to use the fees collected by the LMRA in order to enhance the overall prosperity of Bahrain by investing in Bahraini employability, job creation, and social support. Hence, Tamkeen main objectives are: to support Bahrainis to become the employees of choice, and to support high quality private sector job creation and helping the private sector cope with the impact of labour market reform. To achieve these objectives, Tamkeen will invest: in the cost and quality competitiveness of Bahrainis (e.g., reduction of cost of employing Bahrainis relative to expatriates, investment in skill and attitude improvement programmes of Bahrainis) and tackle employment barriers on both employer and new market entrants sides through a combination of financial incentives and capability building, and in supporting the private sector''''s adjustment to new cost structures by providing access to capital to alleviate short-term cash constraints or improve productivity, and in know-how initiatives that support improvements in productivity and decreased reliance on expatriate labour through spreading management and technical knowledge
