Health sector to employ 500 job seekers

AMMAN — Five hundred job seekers will be secured work opportunities in the health sector under agreements the Labour Ministry signed with several associations on Thursday.

The agreements were signed with the Jordan Nurses and Midwives Association, Jordan Pharmaceutical Association, Jordan Laboratories Association, Private Hospitals Association and the Jordan Hospitals Association on the sidelines of the ongoing National Employment Campaign.

Under the agreements, 500 unemployed fresh graduates will be trained and employed in the fields of nursing, pharmaceuticals and laboratories.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour attended the signing ceremony at the campaign’s headquarters at Al Hussein Sports City and toured its different sections where private company representatives are meeting with job seekers.

Labour Ministry Secretary General Hamadah Abu Nejmeh briefed the prime minister on results of the third stage of the campaign, which concludes on September 23.

Abu Nejmeh said 16,318 interviews had been conducted since its launch on September 7, while 2,117 job seekers were “initially hired”.

Over 18,000 job opportunities are on offer during the third stage of the National Employment Campaign, which was first launched in 2013 with the goal of creating thousands of jobs for Jordanians in cooperation with the private sector.

More than 12,000 unemployed Jordanians secured jobs during the first phase of the campaign. The second stage, launched on December 15 with the aim of creating 25,000 job opportunities in 11 sectors, witnessed a “huge turnout” of job seekers.

The ministry said that the third phase of the campaign, however, is different as it focuses on remote areas.

In May this year, Labour Minister Nidal Katamine announced the results of a study evaluating Jordanians’ satisfaction with the national campaign, which has so far secured jobs for 32,000 job seekers in the private sector.

The study, carried out by a local polling firm, showed that 36 per cent of the 32,000 had quit their jobs six months after recruitment due to low salaries, the impact of work on their studies, incompatibility of their educational background and skills with the job requirements, and transportation challenges.

It also revealed that 62 per cent of those who retained their jobs were satisfied, and that those employed in the construction and telecom sectors tend to keep their jobs, compared to other sectors.

Labour Ministry figures indicate that the unemployment rate currently stands at 11.8 per cent.