This program encourages private sector enterprises to employ nationals through wage support for up to five years. This helps Bahraini graduates and jobseekers to enter the labor market, while also supporting enterprises to employ the talent they need to drive their productivity and success.  

While this program is open for employing graduates from all educational backgrounds, there are also tracks under the program which support specializations such as doctors, actuaries, and engineers to cater to the specific needs of their sectors.  

For enterprises:   

• Enterprise holds an active Commercial Registration (CR) from MOIC or an active license from the relevant regulatory authority
• Enterprise must not have violations from Tamkeen, LMRA, or any other relevant government entity
• Enterprise must not be an outsourcing enterprise applying for support for employees seconded to other entities

 For employees:  

• Employee must be a Bahraini national
• Employee must be registered in the SIO under the same company
• Employee must not be a business owner or a CR holder
• Employee must not be a first- or second-degree relative of the Enterprise owner
• Employee must hold an open-ended employment contract
• Employee must be a fresh graduate with 24 months of experience or less, or a jobseeker nominated by the Ministry of Labour, or a job seeker employed through the Ministry’s Jobs+ Program
• Employee’s minimum wage must be:
  • BHD 350 or more – for High School graduates
  • BHD 430 or more – for Diploma holders
  • BHD 500 or more – for Bachelor’s degree holders and above (does not apply for the doctors track)

For the Actuaries track:  

• Employee must have a minimum wage of BHD 500

For the Doctors’ track:  

• Employee’s must have a minimum wage of BHD 800
• Employee must be a licensed doctor or dentist employed in a private hospital or clinic

For the Engineers’ track:  

• Employee must have a minimum wage of BHD 500
• Employee must be a trainee engineer as per The Council for Regulating the Practice of Engineering Professions (CRPEP)
• Employee must be nominated by the Ministry of Labour as a jobseeker

For People with Determination track:  

• Employee must be registered as a person with a disability as per the Ministry of Social Development and registered as a jobseeker with the Ministry of Labour

We will support a percentage of the wages of the employees for up to five years whereby enterprises can select one of the following options as per their requirements:

• Three years with 70% support for the first year,  50% support for the second year and  30% support for the third year  
• Three years with 50% support across all years 
• Five years with 30% support across all years

For the Engineers track:  eligible enterprises will receive wage subsidy support of 40% for 5 years.

For People with Determination track: eligible employees will receive an additional 10% support annually.

The support is subject to the approved cap amount. 

The following are not eligible for receiving support through this program:  

• Outsourcing companies seeking to obtain support for employees seconded to other entities  
• Employees who have a first or second-degree relationship with the employer 

Before submitting an application under the National Employment Program, enterprises are encouraged to review the program’s eligibility criteria and ensure that both the employee and employment arrangement meet all applicable requirements. 

An application may not be approved in certain circumstances, including but not limited to the following:  

• The employee is a first- or second-degree relative of the enterprise owner. 
• The employee’s previous and current employers are owned by the same owner(s) or by related parties. 
• The employee is not considered a new hire, to include previous staff employed by the applying enterprise or another enterprise under the same ownership. 
• The employee is outsourced, seconded, or assigned to work for another enterprise. 
• The employee has previously received or is currently receiving wage support through the applying enterprise or another enterprise under the same ownership. 
• The employee is no longer employed by the applying enterprise. 
• The employee is not registered under the applying CR or a branch of the CR, based on records maintained by the Social Insurance Organization. 
• A request is made to transfer the application to another CR or branch while the original CR or branch remains officially active and has not been deactivated or closed. 
• Material inconsistencies or concerns are identified during Tamkeen’s assessment and verification, including where the employment relationship or information submitted cannot be verified against available records. 
• The application does not satisfy the program requirements following Tamkeen’s assessment and verification. 
• Any other circumstances where the application does not meet the program’s eligibility requirements.  

Important Note 

Meeting the initial eligibility criteria does not guarantee approval.  

All applications remain subject to Tamkeen’s assessment and verification processes, the applicable program terms and conditions, and the review of information obtained from relevant official records. 

The circumstances listed above are common examples and should not be considered an exhaustive list of all factors that may affect an application’s approval