NATIONAL JOB PROJECT KICKS OFF REGISTRATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000020 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/03/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL ELAB ECON BA POL HUMRIT SUBJECT: NATIONAL JOB PROJECT KICKS OFF REGISTRATION CAMPAIGN REF: 2005 MANAMA 1773 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The long-awaited $80 million National Employment and Training Project began registering Bahrain's estimated 20,000 unemployed January 2 at 20 centers around the country. Minister of Labor Dr. Majeed Al-Alawi has stated publicly that the project will end unemployment in the Kingdom. Dr. Al-Alawi has been personally very active in promoting the project reaching out to both Shi'a and Sunni clerics, politicians, political societies, and the business community, and in coming days will attend village meetings to speak directly with the public. The GOB has been pressuring employers to participate in the project. According to Bahrain Training Institute (BTI) Director Mohamed Dirbas, employers must work to overcome a deep-seated feeling of mistrust harbored by many unemployed persons. Editor-in-Chief Mansour Al-Jamri highlighted the shortage of trust on the part of the public for any project offered by the government, while personally supporting the plan. Australian firm EFI International is a partner with the Ministry on the project, and the BTI is the primary provider of training. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The press reports that almost 2,000 of Bahrain's estimated 20,000 unemployed, 14% of the Bahraini workforce, registered January 2 and 3 on the first two days of registration for the GOB National Employment and Training Project (NETP). Minister of Labor Dr. Al-Alawi continued to be visible as he visited several of the 20 centers, 15 of which are temporary sites opened specifically for the project's registration period. In a segmented registration plan, job seekers over 30 years of age will register in the first week, those 25-30 in the second week, those 20-24 in the third week, and those under 20 in the fourth week. The second month of registration will be open to anyone who missed the earlier specified week. The heaviest volume is expected in weeks two and three as 56% of the unemployed are in the 20-30 age bracket. The $80 million project has as its goal to train unemployed Bahrainis to assume jobs which are currently filled by expatriate workers, who make up approximately 55% of Bahrain's workforce of 320,000. The Ministry of Labor has targeted 10,000 new workers to be employed within calendar year 2006 and another 10,000 in ¶2007. This training and employment program is a critical component of the Crown Prince's economic reform project launched in fall 2004. -------------- Come One, Come All...But Don't Dally -------------- ¶3. (C) Dr. Al-Alawi said publicly December 27 that those seeking jobs are being given a "golden opportunity" to receive training and employment. He stressed that those who miss the two month registration window, and therefore do not participate in the project, will no longer be considered unemployed. (Note: This appears to be a warning to a group of persistent protesters from the Committee of the Unemployed who have carried on sporadic protests in recent weeks following violent clashes with police in late November and early December, per reftel. End note.) -------------- - Al-Alawi and the Press Reach Out to the People -------------- - ¶4. (U) Dr. Al-Alawi has conducted a highly visible public affairs campaign to spread the word about the NETP. He began in early December, meeting with prominent Shi'a clerics Shaikh Isa Qassim, Shaikh Abdulla Al-Ghuraifi, and Shaikh Hussein Al-Najati, among others, to garner their support for the program as they speak to Shi'a followers, who are disproportionately represented in the ranks of the unemployed. Several subsequently promoted the program during their Friday sermons. Dr. Al-Alawi then met with Sunni shaikhs, politicians, business leaders and leaders of political societies. In coming days the Minister, a former Shi'a exile himself who returned from London following the launch of the King's reform program, plans to visit a string of villages to speak directly to the people and their local leaders to encourage them to register under the project. ¶5. (U) Arabic daily Al-Wasat Editor-in-Chief Mansour Al-Jamri January 4 threw his full support behind the project while admitting that a major problem is that "there is a lack of trust among civil society leaders and religious scholars in any project or idea offered by the government." He advocated that the government use additional media such as television and radio to build public trust, and called upon civil society groups and clerics to support the plan. The project has used a scientific and realistic approach, which previous unemployment plans failed to do, to identify the unemployed, and this aspect will lead toward success, he added. -------------- The Institute in the Spotlight -------------- ¶6. (C) In a December 21 meeting with Poloff, BTI Director Mohamed Dirbas also pointed to mistrust between Bahraini unemployed and employers. Employers have historically sought trained expatriate labor, which has been less expensive and usually does not raise its voice through union involvement. Bahraini workers feel betrayed by these hiring practices. Dirbas explained that the GOB has put pressure on businesses to hire trained Bahrainis and to cooperate with the Ministry of Labor on the project. To make Bahraini workers more economically competitive with expats, the GOB has presented to parliament labor reform legislation that establishes fees for employing expat workers. ¶7. (C) Dirbas said that BTI has already hired unemployed university graduates to seek out job openings in the market and will continue hiring to meet increased demands as BTI takes the lead in training the registered unemployed. The General Organization for Social Insurance has identified sectors of the job market that currently employ expats, but whose jobs and salaries Bahraini workers would welcome. Dirbas cited that 76% of the unemployed are high school graduates and school drop-outs. Another 15% have additional schooling up through the equivalent of an associate degree and the remaining 9% are university graduates. Beginning monthly stipends and salaries for jobs found through the NETP correspond to one's educational level ranging from BD 100-300 ($265-800). -------------- Assistance from Outside This Time -------------- ¶8. (U) The GOB hired an Australian firm, EFI International, to partner with the Labor Ministry for 18 months for a sum of $10 million to conduct a field study, provide expertise in the assessment process, monitor training programs, and direct the placement of trainees into jobs. For those applicants lacking marketable skills, project staff conduct a post-registration assessment at one of ten centers to identify an applicant's skills and aptitudes. Based on the results, the applicant will begin a training program at one of three levels: craftsman, technician or specialist. ¶9. (U) According to those close to the program, previous efforts dealing with the problem of unemployment were not successful partly because they lacked a system to identify an individual's aptitudes. Applicants were pushed to take jobs for which they were not trained and in which they were not skilled, resulting in discouragement and failure. There was also much alleged corruption attached to previous efforts. Ministry of Labor officials are far more optimistic this time because EFI International provides more accountability and oversight, assessment and training are a key feature of the process, and the 20 registration centers make for easy public access. Previously registration was handled only through the Ministry itself. In addition, this project is staying away from construction jobs, which are shunned by Bahrainis. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) Optimism is running high over the NETP. The GOB has been very effective in its public relations campaign and the Labor Minister himself deserves much of the credit. That said, this is just the beginning and if the Ministry does not come through on its public promises, there will be great disappointment. The government's focus on this project may be read by some as a political victory for activists who have held (sometimes violent) demonstrations over the past year protesting lack of employment prospects. Nonetheless, the project is an integral part of the Crown Prince's economic reform program to transform Bahrain's economy from a low labor-cost model to a services-oriented, knowledge-based model and, in the process, remedy its persistent unemployment. ZIADEH