Programme to boost employability of fresh graduates, offer on-the-job training

AMMAN — A new capacity building programme seeks to equip fresh graduates with professional skills and to provide them with on-the-job training opportunities, said Project Director Bashar Soboh on Tuesday.

Carried out by the Employment-Technical and Vocational Education and Training Fund in partnership with the Labour Ministry, the “Tamkin” programme seeks to improve the interpersonal skills of Jordanians who have finished their studies within the past two years and are looking for employment opportunities. 

The pilot phase of the training programme will take place in Zarqa, Irbid and Maan governorates starting early March, and the project will expand to all governorates if it proves successful in enhancing the employability of beneficiaries, particularly in the private sector, Soboh said. 

Some 2,000 male and female participants from all backgrounds will engage in 75 hours of free interactive sessions on positive thinking, work ethics and communication skills offered by Dale Carnegie over two weeks. 

“It’s important to brush off the negativity that some unemployed graduates may feel and prepare them to enter the job market with a new positive attitude and skills,” Soboh told The Jordan Times in an interview.

Tamkin will provide 1,200 of the participants with on-the-job training opportunities in private institutions for nine months, according to the official, who added that the fund will pay trainees and commit to paying their entire social security subscription.

“This way we do not burden employers… on the contrary, we provide them with trained juniors,” he said, noting that the programme management will follow up closely with employers on the performance of trainees.

Eligible candidates in the programme’s current phase must be residents of targeted governorates between the ages of 19 and 25 who are unemployed and graduated from universities or community colleges in the past two years.

Those interested in enrolling in the programme can register through the application available on www.facebook.com/tamkin.project or via https://surveymonkey.com/r/tamkin and are required to attach copies of their identification cards, educational certifications and a proof of area of residence.