Mahdi takes right steps

By MAI AL KHATIB

A programme to help ambitious young Bahrainis reach the top of their professions will have trained 6,500 employees within the next three years.

The scheme is called the Tamkeen Career Progression Programme and has already helped many to move up the pay scale and build a successful career path.

Amongst them is Jawad CPP graduate, Mahdi Jassim, 22, from Jidhafs, who has been promoted to the role of training supervisor and senior sales manager at top Bahrain City Centre designer store Sacoor Brothers, which is part of the Jawad Group.

Mahdi joined the parent company almost three years ago and was determined to climb the career ladder after starting as a salesman at clothing store Mango.

He was one of only three men to start a nine-month intensive training course with a large group of female retail employees and was the only man to complete the mission.

Mahdi said: “I had previously received a certificate in customer service but the Level 3 Retail Certificate is an even bigger achievement.

“I ended up being the only guy on the retail course and felt I had to work even harder to prove my capabilities.

“The timings – starting at 7am and working through until 10pm – didn’t hinder me because at the end of the day this will benefit me. So if that meant I had to work a bit harder then that was fine by me.”

Mahdi says he was encouraged all the way by management, in particular his boss at Mango, Ali Al Ouwainati. “He really supported and motivated me to continue in the course and work hard,” explained Mahdi. “He wouldn’t let me quit when things got tough reminding me that once I got the certificate it would all be worthwhile.

“It certainly was – particularly as it helped earn me a BD50 salary rise this month!”

Tamkeen, also known as the Labour Fund, is a semi-autonomous, independent authority which formulates strategic and operational plans to use the fees collected by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) in order to enhance the overall prosperity of Bahrain by investing in Bahraini employability, job creation, and social support.

It aims to assist the private sector to increase its productivity and to become the engine of economic growth.

Dr Ahmed Al Shaikh, vice-president of enterprise and human capital development at Tamkeen, said: “Our main objective is to support Bahrainis, making them the employees of choice – be it in Bahrain or abroad.

“We support high quality private sector job creation and helping the private sector cope with the impact of the labour market reform.

“To achieve human development we will invest in the cost and quality competitiveness of Bahrainis, for example investing in skill and attitude improvement programmes.”

The Career Progression Programme (CPP) is an exclusive programme created by Tamkeen and implemented and managed by BDO Jawad Habib Consulting to support the human capital development of the mid-income local workforce in the kingdom.

It is specifically designed to address underemployment or skill deficiencies that hinder career progression opportunities for Bahrainis in the private sector.

This programme provides a positive step towards improving productivity and financial rewards for Bahrainis – helping them to climb up the career ladder in the same way as Mahdi.

Full-time employees who earn a basic salary of between BD200 and BD400 and are registered in Gossi can qualify for the programme and after nine months of training will receive an increase of BD50 in their basic salary for 12 months which is covered by Tamkeen.

In a win-win situation, employers can improve Bahraini employee skills, achieve better retention rates, increase productivity and take advantage of subsidised training costs and the salary increase.

BDO Jawad Habib Consulting has identified various Bahraini training service providers which fit the bill to help implement the programme including Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance, Berlitz, Gulf Academy, Gulf Insurance Institute, Educational and Management International Consultancy, Golden Trust, National Institute of Technology, and Bridge Training Solutions of Manama which is accredited through the UK’s Hull College and has recently completed training with retail staff at the Jawad Group.

Commenting on the effectiveness of the programme Zainab Jawad, training manager at Jawad Group, said: “I am really happy with the CPP.

“Instead of training for soft skills like time management and work ethic, we wanted to offer our retail department members the BBQ3 certification.

“All our supervisors and seniors in the fashion industry have received this certification. The sales assistants are studying the same certificate but level 2.

“Forty-nine out of 122 nominees have completed the programme and we will have a second batch joining by the second half of next year.

“This programme really increased the motivation of staff and their salaries. It has encouraged more Bahrainis to work and want to develop themselves. Now we have better trained individuals in their specific fields.

“I would advise other companies to use the programme.”

Bridge is one of the training providers for the CPP through which it is the nominated retail training provider for Jawad Group. It is accredited to Hull College, a leading training facility in the UK and the two were brought together by British company Achromai.

Neil Watson of Achromai said: “We are working with a number of organisations in Bahrain to partner them with vocational colleges and universities in the UK so that we can transfer good practice to Bahrain, but with the courses adjusted to meet the needs of Bahrainis.

“We are delighted to be working with Jawad Group, BDO Jawad Habib, Tamkeen and Hull College and Bridge in this retail training project, and I would like to congratulate the students on this course for their work and their achievement. I know that what they have learned is already being used by them in their jobs.”

Hull College executive director Jeremy Coupland, added: “Hull College is one of the most successful colleges in the UK, its success story has expanded into a number of international areas including China, India and the Middle East.

“As part of Hull College’s international partnerships the college works with a range of businesses and training organisations in Bahrain. Working in partnership with organisations including Bridge Training Solutions, the College provides a range of Level 2 and Level 3 retail programmes designed to meet the skill needs of the Bahrain retail industry.”

Dr Ehsan Ghurbal, the CPP project manager and director of BDO Jawad Habib, said: “We evaluate the nominees given by the organisations and find what skills they lack. We have a pool of qualified trainers on stand-by that are mostly made up of locals but we also have a green light to bring in anyone from abroad if we find we don’t have the right quality for a specific course. The courses we have are based on international standards and will fulfill all our training needs.

“I would like to emphasise the importance of the programme on improving the skills of the employee and their lifestyle. At the end of the day, both employer and employee will benefit from this initiative and we would like to encourage companies to opt for it. ”

Due to the success of this programme, other initiatives are being developed including a possible Retail Academy to be launched in the New Year.