AMMAN – H.E. the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education for Administration and Financial Affairs, welcomed UNESCO Representative in Jordan Ms. Min Jeong Kim and a high-level delegation from Canada headed by Ms. Marie-Claude Grenon, Executive Director, Middle East Development Programme, to discuss the Technical Assistance programme ‘Transforming Technical and Vocational Education in Jordan’. Through this four-year programme, UNESCO and Canada commit to support major reforms in vocational education to better respond to labour market demands and address youth unemployment and gender disparities. 

This Technical Assistance complements the Canadian government’s sovereign loan to Jordan supporting the implementation of the five-year initiative ‘Increasing Education Access and Quality to vocational education through strengthening Edtech and Maintenance’. The loan will support the modernization of Jordan’s vocational education sector by refurbishing and equipping vocational workshops and upgrading education technology in both vocational and academic schools. 

Through the Technical Assistance programme, UNESCO will work closely with the Ministry of Education, private sector industries, and other national partners and stakeholders to improve the quality of TVET offered in public schools. The programme will tackle issues such as enhancing career guidance, strengthening cooperation with the private sector and employers, raising awareness about the importance of TVET, reinforcing the capacities of TVET teachers, and improving TVET graduates’ qualifications to better prepare young girls and boys for the world of work.