New website helps students make ‘informed career choices’

AMMAN — The Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies on Sunday launched “Mehnaty” ("My Profession" in Arabic), a website aimed at raising awareness on the importance of harmony between educational paths followed by students across the Kingdom and opportunities available at the local labour market. 

The issue was addressed earlier this year by the Higher Education Council (HEC) through the admission policies set for the next academic year which “take into account the current absorptive capacity of the labour market per each specialty based on the decision ratified by HEC to reduce the percentage of students in specialties with no labour demand”, Higher Education Minister Adel Tweisi said. 

“Up to this point, we have been able to reduce the number of students in the targeted specialties by 30 per cent,” the minister added, explaining that “the objective is now to increase the number of students enrolled in technical specialties, as the labour demand is witnessing a continued increase in this field”.

The new website, available at Mehnaty.org, provides students with the necessary data to make informed decisions about their career prospects including labour policies, decision makers' guides for the development of new strategies aimed at increasing employability, and a database on job postings for the sectors of health, management, finance and engineering. 

The site also provides information on the personal knowledge and skills to be provided by professionals depending on their career paths, as well as information on salary estimates and future trends in employment demand. 

“This website will help alleviate youth unemployment in Jordan, which remains one of the most pressing and persistent obstacles in our country,” the organisation said in a statement, adding that “this site will guide educational institutions, decision makers and other stakeholders as much as it guides school and university students, helping them on adapting their curricula and educational paths to meet the needs of the labour market”.

The centre expressed hopes for the website to “benefit students in the final stages of their education by helping them to identify careers compatible both with their aspirations and the capacities of the Jordanian labour market, while guiding institutions and vocational training centres in transferring the basic knowledge and skills necessary for students to take part in the labour market”.

Tawjihi (General Secondary Education Certificate Examination) student Mohammad Al Khalil welcomed the launch, noting that “the time to make a final choice on the degree and university I want to get into is getting closer day by day and I am still confused about the choices, but the information available in this site will help me make a wise decision that is good for my future”.

“Like me, most of my classmates are still unsure about what to choose,” the student continued, adding that “whatever we end up deciding, I think it is essential to have a way to ensure that good opportunities will be waiting for us out there”.

However, University of Jordan student Reem Abazza expressed reservations about the website, saying “although this site is addressing the reality Jordan is facing at the moment, the truth is that there should not be any degrees without further professional opportunities for their graduates.”

“The fact that we need such a tool in Jordan should be a warning for the concerned institutions to start working on the root of this problem, whether it lies in the education system or an exhausted economy,” the student concluded.