AMMAN — The cabinet, during a session chaired by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan on Sunday, approved the justifications for the draft Professional Work Regulation Law 2026 and referred it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau to complete the necessary approval procedures. 

 

The draft law aims to regulate Jordan’s professional and technical labour market by requiring workers to obtain a professional practice certificate across three main areas, according to a Prime Ministry statement.

 

The first pillar focuses on granting certificates to graduates of vocational training institutions, including the Vocational Training Corporation, the National Employment and Training Company, the College of Advanced Vocational Training, and private vocational training companies. Graduates must obtain the certificate before entering the labour market, the statement read.

 

The second pillar addresses the licensing of service providers, companies, and institutions offering vocational and technical training, requiring authorisation from the Ministry of Labour.

 

The third pillar covers the accreditation of training programmes and trainers, which must be approved by the ministry to ensure recognition and quality.

 

Under the draft law, the Ministry of Labour will license and regulate training providers, monitor their operations, assess their performance, supervise training programmes, organise professional examinations, and manage professional practice. The law also sets standards and conditions for licensing providers in both the public and private sectors, registers qualifications and accredited institutions, classifies professional trainers, and establishes a central coordination point with relevant authorities to ensure compliance.

 

The Cabinet also approved the justifications for the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission Law 2026 and referred it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau. Complementing the Professional Work Regulation Law, the draft law focuses on accrediting and overseeing training programmes to ensure quality and alignment with labour market needs, the statement said.

 

The legislation strengthens the role of the Commission in raising education and training standards, improving graduate efficiency, and enhancing competitiveness locally, regionally, and internationally. It unifies accreditation and quality assurance procedures, expands oversight to all education and training institutions, including schools, kindergartens, higher education, and vocational centres, and standardises national frameworks for qualifications recognition.

 

The law also empowers the commission to recognise foreign educational institutions, equate the certificates and qualifications they issue, and certify documents both within Jordan and abroad, supporting the international recognition of Jordanian qualifications.

 

To enhance citizen services, the Cabinet approved a decision by the Water Authority’s Board of Directors to drill, rehabilitate, and operate new scattered wells in partnership with the private sector under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme. This initiative aims to supplement existing water resources and strengthen the supply.

 

Implementation will be carried out in two packages: the first comprising 25 wells with a total production capacity of 28,000 cubic metres per day (≈10 million cubic metres annually), and the second comprising 26 wells with a capacity of 22,000 cubic metres per day (≈8 million cubic metres annually).

 

Contractors will drill, equip, and operate the wells at their expense, connect them to the water supply network, comply with Jordanian Drinking Water Standard No. 286/2015, install output meters, and ensure continuous production for five years before transferring ownership to the Water Authority.

 

The Cabinet also approved a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Transport, Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, and Syria’s Ministry of Transport to strengthen regional transport cooperation. The agreement aims to enhance connectivity, improve efficiency and sustainability, and develop transport infrastructure across land, air, and future modes, including railways and multimodal logistics systems.

 

The cooperation will unify standards, align regulations, advance digital transformation and smart transport systems, develop capacities, share expertise, coordinate transport corridors, and involve the private sector to attract investment. A joint ministerial committee, comprising transport ministers and relevant officials, will serve as a high-level coordinating body overseeing implementation.