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Programme aimed at reducing unemployment among dentists

By Dana Al Emam - Feb 29,2016 - Last updated at Feb 29,2016

AMMAN — A one-year training programme seeks to enhance the employability skills of 200 dentists who are currently unemployed, said Ibrahim Tarawneh, president of the Jordan Dental Association.

The programme seeks to resolve the dilemma that unemployed yet certified members of the association face when applying for jobs, as requirements usually include two years of experience, one of which is a year-long internship that all dentists undergo. 

Many fresh graduates, however, are unable to gain a second year of experience.

"This training programme, which will start in two weeks, offers unemployed dentists another year of experience that will qualify them to apply for jobs locally in the public and private sectors, as well as abroad, mainly in Gulf Arab countries," Tarawneh told The Jordan Times in a recent phone interview.

Under the initiative, carried out in partnership with the ministries of health and labour, and the Employment-Technical and Vocational Education Training Fund, dentists from across the country will work in public dental clinics.

"The training programme will include life skill courses and English language courses for those who studied dentistry in other languages," Tarawneh noted.

Participants will be selected based on the date of graduation and area of residence, and will receive a monthly stipend of around JD450, in addition to JD50 transportation fees, he added.

The association leader said the programme will continue until a zero unemployment rate among dentists is reached, noting that the "excess" number of graduates every year, which he estimated at 400, is a key contributor to unemployment.

Some 8,900 dentists are officially registered, with the unemployment rate reaching 20 per cent three years ago. 

 

But the number has dropped "significantly" after the implementation of a number of employment projects that secured jobs to over 400 dentists, according to the association.

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