Labour ministry, ILO review job market needs

AMMAN — The Ministry of Labour and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Saturday discussed the ministry's future plans. 

Labour Minister Nidal Bataineh, during his meeting with the ILO's country coordinator in Jordan, Patrick Daru, highlighted the ministry's short, medium and long-term plans designated to regulate the Jordanian labour market and “extensive” efforts exerted to control foreign workers through reconsidering their recruitment regulations and increasing inspection campaigns, along with other administrative measures. 

Talks also covered the ministry's plans to develop the Kingdom's vocational training system through a comprehensive review of programmes according to a new strategy based on market needs, which is seeing labour shortages, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Touching on the mechanisms channelled to develop the National Service Programme, the minister underlined the "fundamental changes" made to align the initiative’s outputs with the needs of the labour market in order to link beneficiaries with the private sector.

The National Service Programme, a top government priority for the years 2019-2020, aims to provide vocational training for some 20,000 Jordanian youth.

Talks also drew attention to the role of the agricultural sector, and establishing a means of bolstering it with a trained national workforce supported by social protection.

Bataineh expressed appreciation for the ILO's efforts in supporting and implementing various programmes and projects in the Kingdom, calling on Daru to reconsider the organisation's current and future projects in line with the ministry's plans.