“University of Bahrain really appreciates the effort put forward by all the participating banks in this highly success-ful and beneficial training program, which focuses on preparing elite students for a challeng-ing career in the banking sector. The university values highly the work experience oppor-tunity given to the students, which helps them develop their professional work behaviour and introduces them to the real work environment, helping them to develop their work-related skills. The partnership between UoB and the banking industry continues to prove to be tremendously beneficial to all parties involved,” Dr Mervat Ameen, Assistant Professor, College of Business Administration who is also the director of the practical training office in the college of business said.
“Training is one of the vital objectives of the fi-nancial sector to help build a knowledge-based workforce. The industry is proud to have al-most 14,000 people employed of whom two-thirds are Bahraini and one-third are women. This will assist the Kingdom in working towards its goals under Vision 2030”. He added: “There is an old proverb that says, ‘Give a man a fish and he feeds his family for one day. Teach him how to fish and he feeds them for the rest of his life’. That is the true value of training and education – to provide for our families with dignity through self-help and not relying on others,” Robert Ainey, CEO of the Association, said.
Over 123 students who attended the programme in the past have secured jobs with banks who are members of BAB.
BAB developed the progamme in 2004 with the objective of taking selected students and giving them specialist training, career-management and recruitment opportunities under the guidance of the human resources departments of participating banks. Each student is also allocated a senior executive ‘Mentor.’ Internships include regular progress meetings, informal discussions and periodic lunches between the Mentor and the student.