Development of a Youth Inclusion Training Centre at Abdali Mall for EBRD
Summary
The objective of this project was to equip young people with the skills required for the hospitality and retail sector, and increase the levels of access and participation of young people with new job opportunities in Abdali. The result has been to rebalance a society where high youth unemployment has become the norm.
Amman is one of the oldest cities in the world and today it is the thriving capital of Jordan that provides an energetic mix of old and new. Amman is home to almost half of the population of Jordan with 70% being under the age of 30. Almost half of these young people are currently out of work.
Without adequate employment prospects young people are systematically excluded from the economy, leading to growing inequality which in turn increases public spending and could lead to social unrest. In the private sector many companies struggle to recruit people with the right skills. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping to find solutions to these problems, and is investing $80 million in the new Abdali Mall complex. This development required the creation of a training and recruitment facility based on a social inclusion model. Its aim being to enable young people to acquire employment skills they and develop a well trained workforce for the new complex.
Our role was to support and build the capacity of the Abdali Mall Company and successfully implement an inclusion model. By providing the opportunities for young people to get jobs and build skills-sets that match businesses needs using employer driven training programmes, the Abdali Mall Training and Recruitment Centre has fulfilled its ambition.
People 1st’s primary objective was to set up a fully functional recruitment and training centre. This new centre offers effective job-matching, career guidance and employment information services. Awareness of the project was driven through an effective communication campaign and the development of partnerships with key stakeholders, including government and donors, to secure support for the inclusion model.
The new Recruitment and Training Centre is pioneering a new culture of social inclusion and workforce development that gives employers access to trained employees with skills that they need. The Centre additionally offers employers on going access for the continued development of existing employees through industry-led training programmes in leadership, management, customer services and languages.
Employers are already able to access newly skilled students who have undertaken an industry led pre-employment programme. The facility is run by two well established providers, Jordan Education for Employment and Jordan Hospitality and Tourism Education company. We have also established a Train–the-Trainer programme that will further increase the capacity and capability of local labour.
“Abdali Mall is now open for business and with the help and expertise from People 1st we have set up a training centre that is fully inclusive. Young men and women now have the opportunity to train for a career in retail and hospitality and the skills that they gain are directly matched to their employers needs. Our Train the Trainer programme builds the capacity and capability of our in-house staff to deliver a range of courses suited to industry requirements.”
Suhair Albargouthi
Human Recourses Manager, Abdali Mall Company
