France signs three vocational training projects with local companies

AMMAN — Three financing agreements for projects related to vocational training and access to employment on Tuesday were signed between the French Development Agency (AFD) and local partners including the Business Development Centre (BDC), Jordan Education for Employment (JEFE) and Luminus Foundation.

The 8 million euro projects were signed in the presence of Minister of Labour Samir Murad, French Ambassador to Jordan David Bertolotti, AFD Director in Amman Luc Le Cabellec and a number of representatives from the three Jordanian implementation operators.

"With these projects, Jordan becomes the first country to benefit from the new SAWA regional initiative implemented by the AFD and aimed at meeting the needs of vulnerable populations in the Middle East," a statement by the French embassy said, adding that "these projects will strengthen the employability of young Jordanians and refugee populations by improving vocational training schemes and adapting them to the needs of businesses; while providing support for employment for vulnerable groups by developing support and orientation schemes for paid employment, self-employment or the creation of a micro enterprise".

"We are currently witnessing a distortion in the labour market between the job opportunities and the qualifications and capabilities of job seekers," the minister said, adding that "our goal at the ministry is to support the implementation of the National Strategy for Human Resources Development [NHRD] as formulated by His Majesty King Abdullah, with a special focus on the vocational training pillar over the next ten years".

"We are in the process of moving forward to a modern vocational training strategy, which will include modern day facilities specialised in specific areas of expertise and dedicated to providing sectorial training," he told The Jordan Times after the signing ceremony.

Implemented in partnership with three local private sector organisations, the projects include "Tanmyeh" (or "development" in Arabic), which will support 2,000 young Jordanians and Syrian refugees in accessing employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in the manufacturing industrial hubs of Zarqa, Irbid, Amman, Ajloun and Jerash, in cooperation with BDC.

Mafraq, Irbid, Amman, Ajloun and Jerash Governorates will benefit from "Amal" (or "hope"), a project to empower young local Jordanians and refugees and their communities in the personal, professional and economic fields, in partnership with JEFE.

Mainly focused in Amman and Irbid, "Taghyyr" (or "change") will provide youth with demand-driven training that leads to employment in the hospitality sector in collaboration with the Luminus Foundation.

"It is important for a country like Jordan, which has such a vibrant touristic scene, to include its population in the hospitality sector," an official at the embassy said, noting that hospitality is the fifth largest contributor to the GDP in Jordan. 

Highlighting France's engagement in the sector of professional training in Jordan over the past two years, the French ambassador stressed the "distinctively French character of the projects, which aim to build on and reinforce the Jordanian development strategies such as the Jordan Compact, the NHRD and the Jordan Document”.

"This 36-month programme will serve some 4,600 Jordanian and Syrian beneficiaries, 50 per cent of whom are women, helping them to get out of the vicious spiral of a lack of skills hindering their access to job opportunities," Bertolotti continued.

Commenting on the agreement signed with the AFD, Nayef Stetieh, CEO of BDC, said: "We want to create a generation not only of job seekers but also of job creators; a generation of entrepreneurs who can contribute in creating sustainable jobs for the rest of the community in Jordan."

Access to employment and vocational training is a new area of commitment for the AFD which has been operating in Jordan since 2006, mobilising over 1.3 billion Euros in the last ten years to support the resilience of the Kingdom through projects in the sectors of water, energy, local development and transport, the statement concluded.