Hi, great news for many of the unemployed (people with low qualifications), enjoy:


A NEW BD30 million project aimed at drastically reducing unemployment in Bahrain is swinging into action, with an awareness campaign for job-seekers and businesses .

Job-seekers and companies will be invited to register on January 2 for the programme, which aims to have 10,000 people employed by the end of next year.

The project is one of the most ambitious ever undertaken by the government, said Labour Ministry Assistant Under-Secretary for Training Ahmed Al Banna.

"Through this project we hope to have all the 5,000 or so unemployed registered with us either employed, or well into their training programmes, by the end of next year," he said.

The awareness campaign will involve billboards, newspaper advertisements, posters, television and radio sports and more.

Companies will be asked to allocate certain jobs for the programme.

The ministry will then bear the cost of training unemployed Bahrainis at the Bahrain Training Institute and other places.

They will then take up the allocated positions.

"The training will be done at the institutes and includes practical experience. When they take up their jobs they will also undergo on-the-job training," continued Mr Al Banna.

The programme will train high school graduates and drop-outs as craftsmen, high school graduates with qualifications below a bachelor's degree as technicians and those with bachelor's degree for specialist jobs.

The training will last three to 12 months.

"Most of them will take up jobs as technicians, including electrical, mechanical and instrumentation and craftsmen, including jobs in carpentry, masonry, plumbing and so on," said Mr Al Banna.

"These are the types of jobs which the labour market requires."

Mr Al Banna said that the project could continue through 2007, if it is found that even more jobs are needed.

Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi, who earlier announced the project, estimates that there are around 20,000 unemployed Bahrainis.

But he said around half of these do some kind of unofficial business or work, such as selling fruit or fish on the street and would not be included in the scheme.

Good on Bahrain!

everybody knows that a great percentage of the unemployed are runnung their own businesses, i'm not including all or a majority, but a big figure. they are simply cheeting.

BD30m jobs drive next year

A NEW BD30 million project aimed at drastically reducing unemployment in Bahrain will be officially launched in March, Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi announced.

This will follow a registration period for job-seekers and companies, which will start on January 2.

The project aims to have all 5,000 currently registered unemployed, plus another 5,000 unregistered, either employed or in training by the end of next year. An awareness campaign, including billboards, newspaper ads, posters, television and radio sports and more, has just been launched.

Dr Al Alawi announced the plans during a meeting with businessmen at the Gulf Hotel.

The event was organised as part of the campaign to raise interest in the private sector.

Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Khalid Kanoo said that he supported the project but added that it must also emphasise improving the work ethics of Bahrainis, which he said was currently lacking.

Under the programme companies will be asked to allocate certain jobs for the programme.

The ministry will then bear the cost of training unemployed Bahrainis at the Bahrain Training Institutes and other places. They will then take up the allocated positions.

The programme will train high school graduates and drop-outs as craftsmen, high school graduates with qualifications below a bachelor's degree as technicians and those with bachelor's for specialist jobs. It will last between three to 12 months.

Dr Al Alawi estimates that there are around 20,000 unemployed Bahrainis, around half of whom do some kind of unofficial business or work, such as selling fruit or fish on the street. They will not be eligible for the programme.

SCORES of unemployed Bahrainis, including members of the so-called Unemployment Committee, are understood to have taken advantage of an Interior Ministry recruitment drive for 495 vacant jobs.

The jobs available are either for public security police or community police.

The announcement by the ministry follows months of negotiations and demonstrations by the Unemployment Committee, including some that turned violent.

The committee called off a demonstration planned for October 10 after the ministry promised that it would take active measures to find jobs for its members.

It met its members on Friday and told them to go to the ministry's headquarters in Manama to take advantage of the offer.

Committee public relations co-ordinator Hassan Abdulnabi said it sees itself as a representative of all the unemployed in Bahrain, including the negotiations sub-committee comprising 1,700 registered members.

"These include unemployed Bahrainis and those working for very low wages," he said.

"We did not organise as a group to go there, but told our individual members to show up and sign up for the available jobs so it was up to them whether they wanted to take advantage of the offer or not."

Mr Abdulnabi said he did not know how many people went to the ministry in the end.

The committee has repeatedly stated that it would not accept jobs in the private sector for its members because they had lost faith in businessmen.

Two major scuffles broke out at events organised by the committee, the first outside the Royal Court in Riffa on June 19 and a second at a planned demonstration on July 15 near Al Fateh Mosque in Juffair.

The second demonstration was due to include a pelting of tomatoes at parliament, but police stopped the demonstrators before the march had started.