Effective vocational training crucial in taming unemployment — experts

AMMAN — Well-planned and well-implemented vocational training can help reduce the unprecedented rise in unemployment rates, observed experts and economists.

Speaking to The Jordan Times on Sunday, they emphasised the importance of developing the right skill set for today’s labour market.

According to Ahmad Awad, managing director of the Phenix Centre for Economics and Informatics Studies, 77 per cent of female university certificate holders and 26-27 per cent of male university certificate holders are unemployed.

 “The prevalent mindset nowadays is that having a university certificate is the key to success and such many youth ignore the importance of having the right skill set for the job market,” said Awad.

Economists Wajdi Makhamreh and Mazen Marji agreed with Awad, noting that a university degree does not necessarily equip one with the required skills for the job.

“Many youth still pursue fields that are saturated in the job market,” said Makhamreh.

Vocational training can bridge the existing skill gap, however, it continues to face several obstacles.

The Jordanian society looks down on vocational training out of a false belief that it is the option for students with poor academic performance, Awad said.

Awad and Makhamreh stressed the importance of changing this stereotypical view in order for vocational training to succeed.

Contrary to current trends, in the period from the 1970s to the 1990s, Jordanians actively sought vocational training and as a result obtained high-paying jobs in large numbers abroad especially in the Arab Gulf countries, according to Marji.

Consequently, a shortage of skilled labour developed locally, and the country resorted to foreign workers to fill in the gap, Marji added.

The experts called for restructuring the current vocational training mechanism and establishing training academies and colleges, following up-to-date practices.

Moreover, they highlighted the need for raising the minimum wage for skill-based jobs in order to make them a more attractive option.