Germany provides 10m euros to create jobs in Jordan — ILO

AMMAN — Germany is providing 10 million euros (around JD7.86 million) to create jobs for Syrian refugees and Jordanians in Mafraq and Irbid, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said on Wednesday. 

The funding, which will be provided through the ILO, is the first tranche of funding for a two-and-a-half year project to create jobs and upgrade infrastructure in Jordan, the ILO said in a statement. 

“While the ILO will continue to link with its constituents to support the development of the Jordanian labour market, there is currently a need for immediate job creation, through the provision of employment intensive infrastructure programmes,” said Ruba Jaradat, ILO regional director for Arab states.

The new project aims to create 8,300 short-term jobs for Syrian refugees and their Jordanian hosts in Irbid and Mafraq, which have received large numbers of Syrian refugees, the statement said. 

Work will centre on improving roads and local agricultural infrastructure, as well as renovating schools and building additional classrooms, according to the ILO, which added that all initiatives will be implemented in collaboration with the relevant government ministries. 

Germany’s funding for the project is part of a pledge by Berlin during the London donor conference in February. 

“Germany’s generous contribution will help Jordan and the ILO respond to the urgent need to employ Jordanians and refugees, while improving infrastructure in some of the country’s most impoverished areas,” Jaradat said.

The ILO said it would continue to advocate for the formalisation of Syrian workers in Jordan by easing their access to work permits. 

Jordan recently extended a grace period for Syrians to receive free work permits in certain sectors to October. 

The German Development Bank (KfW) is providing the funding to the ILO on behalf of the German federal ministry for economic cooperation and development.

KfW’s director in Amman, Florian Rabe, said the partnership between the bank and the ILO was “the first of its kind in Jordan”, according to the statement.

“It aims at quickly alleviating the situation in some of the host communities most affected by the Syrian refugee crisis,” Rabe said.