AMMAN — The government is inviting hotels and restaurants to benefit from a program which seeks to assist job seekers in finding employment opportunities nationwide.
Aoun Al-Nahar, director of the Central Employment Directorate at the Ministry of Labor, discussed in a meeting earlier this week the opportunities available for job seekers through the “National Employment” program”.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Jordan Hotels Association, the Syndicate of Guild Mechanical Association, and the Jordan Restaurant Association.
Nahar urged the attendees to take advantage of the program, which specifically aims to identify opportunities in the private sector in all governorates across the Kingdom.
He said the success of the National Employment Program is also that of the private sector because it is the basis for its entire design. The priority of the Ministry of Labor is to employ Jordanians, he asserted.
The goal of the National Employment Program 2022 “Tashgheel” is to provide 60,000 job opportunities for Jordanians, aged 18 to 40, this year. He said the program depends on the opportunities available in the private sector that will be on a platform specifically designated for this purpose.
Beneficiaries must be Jordanian citizens, registered with the Social Security Corporation, he said.
Nahar said that JD80 million was allocated for the program, which contributes JD150 to beneficiaries for six months.
Hamada Abu Nijmeh, head of the Labor House, said the idea is necessary and should be one of the services provided by the Ministry of Labor to link job opportunities and job seekers.
Abu Nijmeh explained that the opportunities announced in the program will be within the minimum wage or close to it, and the matter may not be encouraging enough for job seekers.,
He recommended raising the salaries, adding that the program will not be an integrated solution to the problem of unemployment, which has reached 435,000 unemployed, most of whom are young.
He said the unemployment problem requires studying the specializations of the jobless and providing them with the job. “The problem is we don’t have a database for the unemployed, which is a ‘hazardous matter’”.
He pointed out that unemployment underscores the inability of the national economy to provide job opportunities, stressing that this is one of the economic ministries tasks, which must encourage the private sector to create job opportunities.
Mohammed Al-Zyoud, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor, told Jordan News that the ministry is trying to link job seekers with potential employers through “Tashgheel”.
Abdul-Hakeem Al Hindi, chairman of Jordan Hotels Association, said that hotels have the ability to provide many job opportunities. He said the average number of employees in five-star hotels ranges from 300 to 400.
Hindi urged the government to immediately start filling the gap. He said his association has a major role in studying market needs by rehabilitating and training members of the local community from all governorates, and that the next stage needs an effective partnership between the public and private sectors.