AMMAN — The Labour Ministry and 30 public institutions and private companies on Tuesday signed a slew of agreements to provide some 12,500 jobs for young people in productive sectors.  

 

One agreement was signed with the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) and private sector companies to employ 6,000 Jordanians as part of the “Country Service” programme after they receive the necessary training, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

 

A second agreement was signed with private sector institutions to provide 3,500 jobs directly through the national employment platform, while the third agreement was signed with universities and training institutions to create jobs at hospitals for nurses, technicians and workers. 

 

Attending the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said: “The most important project for the government today is creating jobs and finding the proper environment for young men and women to enter the labour market.

 

Razzaz said that the first draft law that the government will send to Parliament, whose ordinary session is scheduled to start next week, consists of amendments to the Labour Law that seek to organise the market and guest workers, and provide “more space” for young Jordanians. 

 

The premier said that the government had “mistakenly thought that creating jobs was the responsibility of the Labour Ministry or the Civil Service Bureau, which has led to high unemployment rates among youth”.

 

In this regard, he noted that the government has embarked on a “real” dialogue with stakeholders, such as the JAF and the private sector, to address “the state of despair and marginalisation” among youth and to start engaging them in the economic sector.

 

Labour Minister Nidal Bataineh said that these agreements would help in increasing production, stressing the importance of utilising the skills and capabilities of the Jordanian youth to reflect the growth rates.

 

On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, a commission for developing vocational and technical skills was established with the membership of the ministries of labour, education and higher education, so as to link educational outcomes with the indicators and needs of the labour market. 

 

The minister also highlighted the importance of partnership between the public and private sectors in curbing high unemployment rates, noting that the ministry will seek to create effective human resource administrations in the private sector to guarantee sustainable growth and decent work for Jordanians. 

 

During a press conference on the sidelines of the event, Bataineh highlighted the importance of directing guest workers towards jobs that see low turnout by Jordanians and preventing more foreign workers from entering the Kingdom while benefitting from those who are already in the country. 

 

He added that the country srvice programme has “noble goals” and is part of the national employment pact that the government has prepared together with the private sector, with the aim of empowering the Jordanian youth, Petra added.