‘Qudra 2’ enables vulnerable Jordanian youth, refugees to join labour market

AMMAN — Acquiring digital, vocational and technical skills is key for vulnerable Jordanian youth and Syrian refugees to enter the labour market, according to experts.

Christelle Jocquet, resident representative at the Belgian Development Agency, told The Jordan Times that amending the mismatch between the labour market’s needs and the skills of youth is imperative to overcome unemployment challenges in Jordan. 

Jocquet said that the programme aims to train 2000 vulnerable Jordanians and Syrian refugees.

“Through the Qudra 2 programme, we were able to place 390 participants in the labour market,” Jocquet noted. 

Qurda 2 is a regional initiative financed by the EU Madad Fund, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). 

The programme seeks to strengthen the resilience of Syrian refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities in response to the protracted Syrian and Iraqi crises.

The programme is jointly implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Expertise France, AECID, Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) and Belgium Development Agency (Enabel) in the programme’s partner countries of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. 

“Qudra 2’s main objective is to enhance employment outcomes and income, particularly for youth and women,” she added. 

“Forty per cent of the programme’s beneficiaries are females,” Jocquet noted, adding that the programme’s target age group is between 17 and 30 years old.

“We truly believe that we should support refugees’ host community. Therefore, 70 per cent of the programme’s beneficiaries are vulnerable Jordanians,” Jocquet stated. 

 “The total budget allocated for Qudra 2 Jordan stands at 5€ million,” Jocquet added. 

Meanwhile, Zaid Al Qaisi, a skills development expert, told The Jordan Times that the programme is “available for anyone who wishes to participate”. 

“There are no mandatory requirements for registering with the programme,” Qaisi said.