Job Search Club aims to help Jordanian, Syrian youth explore career pathways

AMMAN — The Ministry of Youth has launched a programme titled Job Search Club to equip young Jordanian and Syrians with improved job search and employability skills.

The programme, implemented in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UNICEF, and the Business Development Centre (BDC), aims to help young people explore potential career pathways and successfully transition to the labour market, according to a BDC statement.

The first training course for the Job Search Club’s Ministry of Youth facilitators was recently conducted in Aqaba for 20 facilitators from Jordan’s southern governorates. 

The programme will continue in the country’s northern and central governorates, including the Zaatari and Al Azraq Syrian refugee camps, the statement said. 

In total, 60 facilitators will then work in the country’s youth centres, reaching up to 300 young people in the 18-29 age group to facilitate their access to job opportunities.

“Empowering young people and building their capabilities in line with the requirements of the labour market is one of the ministry’s priorities and one of the main axes of the national youth strategy,” said Youth Minister Muhammad Al-Nabulsi in the statement. 

“We value the multi-agency cooperation in implementing this project, which will eventually enable young people to get a deeper understanding of the labour market and its requirements, and develop methods to search for suitable job opportunities,” he added

The new collaboration is part of the wider PROSPECTS programme, supported by the Government of the Netherlands, which focuses on education, employment, and protection in the context of forced displacement and will be implemented by the BDC.

“Supporting young Jordanians and Syrian refugee women and men to access decent employment is pivotal to the ILO mandate in the country, and one that we are especially focused on under the PROSPECTS partnership,” said Frida Khan, ILO Jordan Decent Work and Country Coordinator, in the statement.

“The programme not only fosters peer-to-peer exchanges among young job seekers, creating new connections, but it also allows young people to hone their job search abilities, matching their qualifications and skill sets,” she said.

“Young people in Jordan have the ideas, motivation and ability to successfully transition to adulthood but we must address the skills gap that is preventing them from gaining meaningful employment,” said Tanya Chapuisat, UNICEF Jordan Representative, in the statement. 

“This new programme will help empower young people with the skills they need to thrive,” she added.

"We are proud of our partnership and cooperation with the International Labour Organisation and the UNICEF to implement this project,” said Ghaleb Hjazi, the BDC general manager. 

At the end of the two-week intensive programme, job seekers will benefit from an additional three-month window in which they will receive assessments on their employment status by the UN agencies.