Summary

The project contributes to the National Employment Strategy (NES), which was formally endorsed in May 2011. It aims to help the government and workers’ and employers’ representatives to tackle youth employment issues.

Project Objectives

The project objectives are to:

• Together with the Jordan Chamber of Industry build the capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to contribute to the quality of the skills supply through upgraded apprenticeship
• Design and pilot a manual on youth rights at work to raise awareness of young people on their rights at work and on how to defend them
• Together with trade unions, enable the ETVET Council to design and implement an assessment and certification strategy (at least for one sector) that can be used by various training providers

Activities

• Finalize the establishment of a skills testing system for the identified sectors by defining the system requirements, developing skill-testing tools, training and certifying assessors, and selecting skill-testing centres or venues
• Carry out a rapid assessment of informal apprenticeship practices in targeted sectors that will serve as a basis for a strategy seminar between the Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI), employers and relevant business associations
• Recruit at least 30 participating MSME’s on a voluntary basis, carry out two three-day training sessions on apprenticeship upgrading and organise joint weekly coaching and monitoring follow-ups to these training sessions
• Ensure that the General Federation for Jordan Trade Unions, and other trade unions and civil society organizations meet to decide on the table of contents of a “Youth Rights at Work” manual that will describe the rights and entitlements of young women and men entering the world of work in Jordan. The manual will focus on the right of young women and men to be protected from gender-based discrimination
• Produce a draft of the “Youth rights at work” manual to be submitted to an editing board composed of trade unions and civil society organizations for approval before being piloted on young women and men and used to train trainers

Project Outcomes

• ETVET Council members’ benefit from a piloted model of testing and certification system
• Documented model of upgrading apprenticeship in two sectors (printing and packaging, and small mechanical repairs) is available for replication
• Training module on youth rights at work to be mainstreamed into training programmes tested by workers’ representatives