Manama: Gulf Air officials have expressed confidence that their breakthrough move to recruit Bahraini girls to work as flight attendants is gaining momentum in a region that is not yet accustomed to seeing local women among cabin crews.
Samer Majali, the Chief Executive Officer, encouraged Bahraini girls to apply for the position, saying that the new cabin crew career path would be suitable for them.
The company would not for instance require the Bahraini stewardesses to take overnight flights.
"We have taken into consideration the local cultural and social aspects while asking Bahraini females to come and work for Gulf Air as members of cabin crew, where the job demands odd working hours," Majali told a gathering of University of Bahrain students expected to graduate soon.
"We have worked out flexible working hours for them whereby they will not be required to take overnight flights. They can look forward to an exciting and rewarding career with Gulf Air,” the Jordan-born CEO said as he sought to allay possible personal and family concerns.
Gulf Air has enlisted the support of Tamkeen (Empowerment) in its initiative to encourage Bahraini girls to join the carrier in customer-related positions.
"Bahrain has been at the vanguard of educational progress in the region since the establishment of the Gulf’s first public education system in 1919. This is something from which Gulf Air has benefitted over the past 60 years and something I hope will continue for the next 6o," Majali said.
"We are committed to investing in education and developing Bahraini talent. To achieve this goal we have been working closely with Tamkeen to create as many job opportunities as possible for qualified Bahrainis."
The recruitment drive is one of several initiatives launched by the company that include ongoing two-year on-the-job training for engineering graduates, recruitment and training of 125 Bahrainis in Gulf Air’s World Wide Call Centre Programme, training company employees and providing training facilities to the Aeronautics Maintenance Engineering Programme.
Gulf Air aims to be the first airline in the Gulf Cooperation Council to seek to recruit women nationals to join cabin crews.
In January, a Bahrain labour official said that the recruitment of Bahraini girls for the two local airlines was part of a plan to help tackle rising unemployment among women.
"We have received more than 100 applications by local women to join cabin crews and that is a good figure," Sabah Al Dossari, the labour assistant undersecretary, said.
"The perks were attractive and include a monthly salary of more than BD 400. The girls will work only during the day, flying to destinations in the Gulf and nearby Arab states," he said.
Al Dossari said that the girls would wear Islam-compliant uniforms and would not be made to put on non-acceptable outfits.
Tamkeen (Labour Fund), the co-ordinator of initiatives bound into the labour market reforms, plans and implements the process through economic reform, training reform and attitudinal change among employers and employees to help create employment opportunities for Bahrainis.
