Tamkeen, Bahrain’s labour fund, signed an agreement with Silah Gulf (Silah), a leading contact centre services provider, to train and employ 100 Bahraini secondary school and university graduates in the company.

The agreement is part of Tamkeen's Employment Support scheme, which helps private sector companies identify their employment requirements and fill those vacancies with Bahrainis after providing them with the necessary training.

The signing ceremony was attended by Tamkeen’s chief executive Mahmood Hashem Al-Kooheji, Silah Gulf chief executive officer Joe Tawfik, and a number of senior officials from both sides.

Under the three-year agreement, Tamkeen will contribute BD61,700 ($163,650) to train 100 Bahraini graduates from the secondary school levels and university levels at Silah Academy. The programme includes basic skills training that will qualify trainees to work as customer service representatives at Silah call centres.

Al-Kooheji said Tamkeen has more than 100 programmes specifically dedicated to human capital development - including the Employment Support scheme – from which 77,500 Bahrainis stand to benefit. These programmes seek to up-skill Bahraini in accordance with the requirements of the labour market in order to make them the employees of choice in the private sector.

Al-Kooheji further noted that the call centre field is a dynamic growing one which stands to create a sustainable job source for the local workforce and bolster the national economy as a whole.

Tawfik said: “As a leading player in the growing contact centre industry, Silah wants to become an employer of choice for the youth in Bahrain. Our national contact centre is currently operated by 100 per cent Bahrainis and we’re constantly adding new staff.”

“With Tamkeen’s support, we will utilize out international expertise in customer service to train Bahrainis, bringing them on par with global best practices,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service