Gov’t programmes hoped to create 71,000 jobs in 5 years

AMMAN — Around 71,000 jobs are expected to be generated between 2017 and 2021 under two government-funded programmes, Labour Minister Ali Ghezawi said on Wednesday.

Ghezawi made the remarks during a Cabinet session that focused on the National Recruitment Programme (NRP), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The NRP includes government procedures to increase the number of Jordanian workers in six main sectors: tourism, industry, construction, agriculture, services and energy (fuel stations). 

With funds totalling JD94 million, one plan will be a substitution, training and recruitment programme, which aims at the gradual substitution of guest workers with Jordanian labourers, while the second is a generating, training and recruitment programme that aims at creating jobs for Jordanians.

Ghezawi said that these programmes will include training Jordanian youths through vocational training centres that are co-run by respective sectors according to their needs.

The minister said that the government pays 50 per cent of the minimum limit of wages to the trainees in the targeted sectors, so as to guarantee recruiting as many Jordanians as possible.

Under the programmes, the government will present JD5 million as loans for the small- and medium-sized enterprises in 2017 to establish 650 projects that will finance 1,300 beneficiaries, Ghezawi said, adding that JD10 million will be offered in 2018 to establish 1,300 projects involving 2,600 beneficiaries. 

The Council of Ministers agreed on procedures under the NRP to reduce the percentage of guest labourers in the industrial and agricultural sectors by 25 per cent annually until 2021, and reducing the percentage of foreign workers by 10 per cent annually in the construction sector by 2021.