Khaberni - The World Bank confirmed the disbursement of 41.54% of the total financing for the "Private Sector Employment and Skills Support Project" in Jordan, worth $46.52 million out of $112 million, according to an evaluative report of the project, translated by "Al Mamlakah".
The report, which was recently released, indicated that the government and the bank agreed on extending the project's implementation period, referred to as "the National Employment Program", from the end of 2025 to July 31, 2028, after restructuring it in August 2025 to expand its scope and enhance its impact on employment.
The report also mentioned that the number of beneficiaries from the project reached more than 55,000 individuals by the end of August last year from various Jordanian provinces, nearly half of them women at 51%, and approximately 12% from beneficiaries of the National Aid Fund.
The project aims to increase job opportunities in the private sector and enhance skills, with a special focus on women and youth, through wage support, on-the-job training, and encouraging companies to formal employment.
More than 1500 private sector companies across all provinces benefit from the program. Among these beneficiaries, about 24,000 workers received on-the-job training within their companies under the supervision of qualified trainers or internal training centers, and 3,790 individuals participated in soft skills and occupational safety training until last August.
Training forms an essential aspect of the project, with 15,397 beneficiaries having received on-the-job training by mid-2024 out of a target of 67,400 trainees by 2028, 46% of them women, and 7% from National Aid Fund beneficiaries, and 79% of them belonging to the youth category.
As for training in basic skills and occupational safety, it involved 3,790 trainees, with the goal to reach 30,000 trainees during the remaining period of the project. The project also plans to provide vocational training as part of the professional licensing process targeting 1,100 individuals, in addition to launching a program to train 500 small business owners on management and finance skills during the next phase.
The report also showed high levels of overall satisfaction with the project among beneficiaries and companies, as the percentage of complaints resolved within the specified timeframe reached 90.7% against a target of 80%, and the satisfaction rate among women beneficiaries reached 99.8%, while the satisfaction rate of participating companies reached 96.7%.
The Ministry of Labor, through the project management unit, continues to conduct biannual surveys to measure the satisfaction of beneficiaries and formulate plans to improve performance based on its results, and coordinates with the World Bank in executing the project periodically to ensure achieving its main goal of building a more sustainable and inclusive job market until mid-2028.
The report confirmed that the level of progress towards achieving the project's objectives is classified as "somewhat satisfactory", and the overall pace of implementation is satisfactory, while the overall risk level remains "moderate". The primary risks include the sustainability and technical design of the executing institutions, while the financial and administrative risks improved after the last restructuring process in August 2025.
The project covers all provinces, targeting the enhancement of formal employment and stimulating the private sector to create new jobs for youth and women, along with developing the vocational training system and linking it to electronic platforms such as "Khaberni" and **"Tadríbak"** to expand access to job and training opportunities.
The World Bank indicated that the Employment and Skills Support Project in Jordan is achieving tangible positive results in stimulating growth in the formal job market and increasing the participation of women and youth, with improvements in sustainability, training, and overall satisfaction rates, making it one of the most prominent development programs contributing to enhanced productive and sustainable employment in Jordan in the coming years.
