Bahrain's Interior Ministry will recruit 20,000 new employees to beef up its workforce following directives from His Majesty King Hamad.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa told local newspapers earlier this week that the King's vision for the Ministry aimed at instilling a feeling of security among people through a program that guarantees dignity and mutual respect.

Recruitment procedures for the new 20,000 Bahrain Interior Ministry employees will start on Sunday 13 March 2011, it was announced.

Basic salaries will start from BD325 depending on positions in addition to allowances and other incentives, said Ministry Human Resources Assistant Under-Secretary Brigadier Hassan Al Samem.

The employment will cover the Coastguard, General Directorate of Traffic, General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs, and the Civil Defense. The plan will be multi-phased depending on the training capacities of the Ministry, said Brig Al Samem.

The recruitment aims at enforcing security presence on the streets across Bahrain in view of the rising number of protests as well as increase in population, he added.

The move only means the Ministry is speeding up its already ongoing process of recruiting Bahrainis to work in the security force, said Brig Al Samem. 'There is a need for more police services due to the current increase of protests and rallies in the country. The recruitment plan will also serve the increase in population to ensure security services are in line with this rise. The ministry has never stopped its recruitment process, but has now speeded it up due to the current need”, he added.

Candidates should be Bahraini, no less than 162 centimeters tall, aged between 18 and 30 years, and do not have any political affiliation. They should have a certificate of good conduct and have not been sacked or discharged from the military service or have a criminal record.

All eligible candidates will take a test and undergo an interview as well as a medical test and physical fitness test.