Zarqa youth graduate from vocational training programme

AMMAN — Two-hundred-and-forty young men and women from Zarqa Governorate on Thursday graduated from the "Vocational Training, Employment and Entrepreneurship" programme conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the support of the Japanese government.

Implemented in collaboration with the World Food Programme and the National Micro-Finance Bank, the programme aims to train vulnerable youth from Zarqa in the fields of mobile phones maintenance, retail, electronics and food, among others.

"The project aims to support vulnerable Jordanian young men and women by building their capacity and technical skills, improving their career and leadership skills and qualifying them for the labour market," according to a UNDP statement.

"I wanted to enter the labour market and it has been two years that I had been looking for a place to work but I couldn't find any," recalled Khaled Al Sayed, one of the graduates.

Many of the youth enrolled in the programme recalled how hard they had been trying to find a job but were either unsuitable for the offers available, or under-qualified for specific jobs.

Through the vocational training, which aimed to improve employability and entrepreneurship skills by building youth vocational and soft skills in highly demanded sectors, these young men and women gained professional abilities adapted to the labour market's demand, according to the UNDP.

Participants in the vocational training, employment and entrepreneurship programme underwent a variety of courses including English language, computer skills, as well as training on ways to succeed at the workplace, with the aim of enriching their professional knowledge and abilities.

Al Sayed, who graduated from the mobile maintenance programme, said he benefited a lot from the training, during which he "learned the components of a mobile, how to assemble and disassemble it, and how to detect where damage comes from". 

For Mohammad Al Shobaki, one of the trainers, "what makes this programme specific is that after finishing the vocational training here with us, the trainees will get financial support from the sponsors, which will enable them to start their own project or they can also start a position immediately within the labour market."

Thirty six of the 240 programme participants have already started their own micro-business, with the guidance, technical training and financial support of the project, while 145 other youth have obtained job opportunities, according to the UNDP.

"We train the students to be prepared to work in hotels and restaurants or to open their own project," said Chef Ameed Hisham, who supervised the food training alumni, stressing the importance of awareness regarding the realities of the work market.

During the ceremony, young graduates expressed the importance of the programme and its role in developing their personalities, voicing the benefits that the skills they acquired will bring to their professional career.

"This project has not only provided us with an income but also helped boost our self — confidence," several students said, while Shams Al Deen, an alumni of the retail sales training programme stressed how the training taught him "how to communicate with customers", making him "more sociable" and with a "stronger personality".

"This project comes from the interest of UNDP in empowering young people, which is an important part of the sustainable development goals [SDGs] ratified by 193 countries in the United Nations General Assembly in 2015," said UNDP Programme Manager Majida Al Assaf.

Ambassador of Japan Hidenao Yanagi said: "We see the youth as the potential for the future of Jordan to promote economic development. I sincerely hope those who have complete the training will be the innovator for the better future."