Queen Rania stresses need to change society's mindset towards vocational jobs

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Monday joined students from Al Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans in a vocational training workshop at Al Quds College.

Participants at the workshop, held in cooperation with the college, discussed the outcomes of the campaign that was launched last year through the partnership of both organisations to promote vocational training amongst young Jordanians, according to a statement from Her Majesty's office.

During the event, Queen Rania praised this partnership and stressed the importance of changing society's mindset towards vocational jobs. 

She also highlighted the important role that the private sector plays in encouraging young people to participate in vocational training as well as partnering with training centres to ensure that graduates' skill match the current demands of the job market. 

Al Aman Fund Deputy Director Ibrahim Al Ahmad explained that the purpose of the workshop was to collect feedback from participants and assess whether these vocational training programmes provided trainees with the set of skills required by the job market.

Participants, who included Al Aman Fund students and graduates of Al Quds College’s vocational programme as well as donors, also discussed whether the programme helped young graduates start their own businesses.

Luminus Group CEO Ibrahim Safad presented a brief about Al Quds College Education for Employment programme and outlined future improvements that would incorporate outcomes of the workshop. 

Safad also highlighted the programme's new approaches that aim to create job opportunities for young people in different fields, the statement said.

After attending the workshop, Her Majesty toured the college and dropped in on a few classes.

In 2013, Al Aman Fund and Al Quds College signed an agreement under which the college would grant the fund a 30 per cent discount on tuition fees. In addition, a one-year fully paid scholarship was offered to Al Aman Fund beneficiaries to study filmmaking at the School of Audio Engineering. 

To date, 254 Al Aman Fund beneficiaries have studied at Al Quds College, 130 of whom joined through the vocational training campaign that was launched last year.

An independent NGO founded by Her Majesty Queen Rania in 2006, Al Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans is registered under the Ministry of Social Development to support the neediest orphans in the country.

To date, 2,304 orphans from 12 governorates have benefited from the fund — 543 of these beneficiaries are from poverty pocket areas, while 706 are students. The number of graduates who benefited from the fund has reached 1,263.