Hospitality sector key in overcoming youth unemployment — stakeholders

AMMAN — Training youth in the hospitality sector is key to overcome high unemployment rates, suggest experts. 

The Department of Statistics announced on Wednesday that the unemployment rate for the second quarter of 2022 has reached 22.6 per cent. 

“Almost one in four youths are unemployed. This number can be reduced through private and public sectors’ partnership,” economist Khaled Salameh told The Jordan Times.

He added that youth unemployment has been on the rise. “School dropouts, school graduates, as well as university graduates across the Kingdom are victims of unemployment,” said Salameh. 

Salameh attributed the rise of youth unemployment to many factors, including the increase in graduation rates, low employability and skills, increasing competition with foreign labour, and the current state of the economy.

“The hospitality sector can help with the unemployment crisis that youth are going through,” said Hussein Hlalat, secretary general at the Jordan Hotels Association (JHA).

Hlalat added that the hospitality sector currently employs over 250,000 individuals.

“Hotels directly provide over 30,000 job opportunities, over 95 per cent of which are for Jordanians,” Hlalat added.

He stated that the top challenge facing the industry is the emigration of the skilled labour force. However, the JHA offers training courses for employed individuals, as well as for fresh grads. 

“The association also offers short training courses for a duration of three months for school dropouts through Ammon Applied University College,” said Hlalat. 

Hlalat urged the government to attach more importance to the hospitality sector, as “it is one of the biggest contributors to the economy”.

Proper attention to the sector could come through offering professional training courses for youth, “especially, among youth in the governorates where tourists interact directly with the local community”, said Hlalat. 

“Our sector indeed is in need of a highly skilled workforce,” Mahmoud Khasawneh, board member at the Jordan Society for Travel Agents (JSTA), told The Jordan Times. 

Khasawneh noted that the hospitality sector could majorly contribute to reducing the unemployment rate. “The sector recruits from the local workforce,” said Khasawneh. 

“University and college graduates acquire almost 75 per cent of the skills needed at their educational institutions,” Khasawneh noted. 

The remaining 25 per cent is acquired through their experience at hospitality sector’s institutions, he said. 

“We invite fresh grads to join the sector, as it will reduce unemployment and also provide our institutions with the workforce needed to deliver the best customer experience to tourists,” said Khasawneh.

He stated that the JSTA is willing to support and invest in youth, “because we recognise that we are investing in the industry’s future workforce”.