Programme promotes self-employment in Madaba villages

AMMAN — Although Madaba resident Malak Shawabkeh already runs a business selling handmade soap and candles, she said the skills she gained from a recent training programme helped her improve her business.

"I was able to develop technical skills that improved the quality of the products and enabled me to find suitable markets in Madaba and elsewhere in the country," she told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

Shawabkeh said her project, which employs eight women from her neighbourhood, is "financially rewarding" and is possibly better-paying than any formal job she could get.

The mother of two said she makes sure to engage her son and daughter, 11 and 9, in the business so that they will grow up with a skill and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Shawabkeh is one of 162 participants who took part in the Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Sustainability Programme, which targeted residents of nine villages in Madaba Governorate, some 30km southwest of Amman.

The programme, carried out by the Business Development Centre (BDC) in partnership with the Employment-Technical and Vocational Education and Training Fund (E-TVET ) and the Tourism Ministry, sought to equip the local community with a comprehensive set of tools to develop quality, market-oriented handicrafts.

Experienced practitioners trained participants on how to create mosaics, paint on glass, and produce homemade soap and candles.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony and an exhibition marking the conclusion of the programme, Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez said the project is in line with the ministry's strategy to empower local communities and enhance their economic participation in the tourism sector.

He added that such programmes producing quality handicrafts will enrich visitors' experiences, calling for expanding the initiative to include all governorates, starting with Jerash. 

The project is an example of efficient private-public partnership to equip members of the local community with the needed skills to create or develop products, said Nayef Stetieh, president and CEO of the BDC.

Stetieh noted that 69 of the participants, the vast majority of whom are women, have opened their own businesses, providing 85 job opportunities in their local communities and achieving sales exceeding JD29,000 in two months. 

The training programme, which lasted for three months, included business management skills, networking with prospective buyers and private firms, and strategies for marketing, pricing and exhibiting the products, he said.

Meanwhile, Stetieh called on hotels and large firms that give away gifts and promotional items to support local producers by providing "permanent marketing lines" for these "quality" products.  

E-TVET Director General Ghassan Abu Yaghi highlighted the role of vocational work in reducing unemployment rates among young people and spreading the culture of independent work, particularly in the tourism sector.

He added that the cost of the project stood at JD135,000.

"I hope Jordanians across the country can benefit from such training programmes that would enhance their financial independence," Shawabkeh concluded.