The ceremony was attended by senior officials from Tamkeen, headed by Tamkeen Chief Executive Mahmood Hashem Al-Kooheji, Ernst Young, CIMA President Mr. Gulzari Babbar and former ACCA President Mr. Dean Westcott.

Launched in October 2007 as part of Tamkeen’s objective of up-skilling Bahrainis and enhancing their employability, the programme seeks to enable around 800 Bahrainis to pursue accredited professional qualifications to pursue or accelerate their career in the field of accountancy and finance.

Commenting on the occasion, Tamkeen’s Chief Executive Mr. Mahmood Hashem Al Kooheji said, “At Tamkeen, we strive to provide Bahrainis with the skills needed to advance in their careers and apply those acquired skills to become more productive and gain a competitive edge in the labour market. We are delighted to see another group of Bahrainis reap the fruit of their hard work and wish all the best in their future endeavors.”

The Ernst Young Training Centre has enrolled over 700 Bahraini applicants to the programme, with 135 having completed their course to date, including 80 Foundations in Accountancy (FIA), 32 Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), 9 Certified Management Accountants (CMA) and 14 Associate Professional Risk Managers (APRM) certifications. Over 280 candidates are currently in the process of being qualified in these qualifications mentioned above.

Tamkeen further expanded the programme in February 2010 to include Postgraduate Qualification in Business Accounting and Islamic Finance (PGQ – CIMA), a a unique qualification designed to help the graduates in Bahrain to enter the Islamic Banking sector by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. 57 Bahrainis of the 130 targeted through the programme have completed this prestigious qualification.

Mr. Essa Al Jowder, the Office Managing Partner (OMP) of Ernst Young Bahrain said “We are proud of the number of Bahrainis who are qualifying internationally recognised professional designations like ACCA, FIA, APRM and PGQ-CIMA today. We as Ernst Young are well placed to help Bahrainis to succeed in these internationally accredited designations as we employ highly qualified and experienced staff in all initiatives undertaken for Tamkeen. I am particularly proud of the fact that majority of our candidates were able to achieve above average global pass rates in all programmes due to high standards we set ourselves in training”.

Most of the graduates are already in the workforce as part of the mandate to find employment opportunities to qualified Bahrainis. The Ernst Young Training Centre, located at the Al Moayyed Tower in the Seef District, gave the trainees access to qualified instructors, approved revision materials as well as case studies, extensive class work and simulation to prepare effectively for their examinations.

Mr. Deen Jayah, Director for Training Services with Ernst Young Bahrain added “Ernst Young Training Centre is dedicated to act as a catalyst in qualifying many Bahraini accountants and finance professionals in Bahrain with the support of Tamkeen. We are delighted to witness 100 Bahrainis receiving these internationally recognised designations today. Tamkeen’s skills gaps initiatives equipped these candidates to be the employees of choice in the field of accounting and finance. This is evident by the high percentage of these candidates who are already employed in the business community contributing positively to Bahrain”

To date, more than 77,000 Bahraini individuals and enterprises in Bahrain have benefited from Tamkeen programmes to date, and the total number is expected to rise to more than 150,000.

About Tamkeen
Tamkeen is an initiative funded by the private sector for the private sector, tasked with developing Bahrain’s private sector and positioning it as the key driver of economic development. Established in August 2006, Tamkeen is one of the cornerstones of Bahrain’s national reform initiatives and Bahrain Economic Vision.

Tamkeen has two primary objectives: Firstly, fostering the creation and development of enterprises, and secondly, providing support to enhance the productivity and growth of enterprises and individuals.

Under each of those objectives, certain mechanisms and innovative support initiatives have been put in place by Tamkeen to address current and future gaps for individuals and enterprises in the private sector that have been identified by thorough studies of the labour market landscape. To date, Tamkeen has created 180 such support programmes.

For Bahrainis, Tamkeen’s programmes range from developing the skills and capabilities of Bahrain’s human capital, to promoting sound workplace ethics and training on leadership and management best practices, among others. For enterprises, Tamkeen provides programmes which offer enterprises with subsidised business support services, facilitate access to financing to bridge the enterprise financing gap, and enable entrepreneurship, to name a few.

Tamkeen’s programmes have benefited 77,000 Bahrainis and enterprises in the private sector, and, more than 150,000 beneficiaries are expected to benefit from these support programmes.

In parallel, Tamkeen’s programmes have played a key role in institutionalising new concepts within Bahrain’s private sector, including SME and micro-financing, entrepreneurship as a viable career path, women empowerment, modern accounting and auditing systems within SMEs, and many other paradigms needed for a vibrant sustainable private sector.

Tamkeen’s funds come from 50% of the fees collected from the Labour Market Regulatory Authority.

© Press Release 2013

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