/24-7PressRelease/ - AMMAN, JORDAN, June 26, 2008 - Jordan's catalyst for economic progress, the Jordan Career Education Foundation (JCEF), celebrated 54 trainees' successful completion of three training programs. At a graduation ceremony held at Al Hussein Cultural Center and under the patronage of His Excellency the Mayor of Amman, Eng. Omar Maani, JCEF commemorated the graduation first class of both the Land Surveying and GIS Systems Program and the Teacher Training Program, and the second class of the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC) Training Program.
By launching such initiatives, JCEF is manifesting its role as the Jordanian affiliate of the Education For Employment (EFE) Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that also operates training and job-placement programs for unemployed youth in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, and Yemen. EFE's goal is to give youth with limited prospects hope and a stake in their futures and that of their countries
All three training courses offered by JCEF incorporate two parts. The first part, known as "Workplace Success," is the EFE/JCEF's comprehensive, intensive 48-hour core program of "soft-skills." The second part of the program is a targeted "hard skills" technical training driven by the needs of the Jordanian private sector: HVAC vocational training, land surveying and GIS training, and teacher training.
Unlike the widespread, generic soft-skills programs, Workplace Success has been translated to Arabic and customized for the Jordanian workplace. Students enrolled in this training program receive dynamic, practical, hands-on training in communication, customer service, leadership, successful business behavior, and teamwork. They are also guided in overriding principles, such as work ethic and self-confidence. Through role-playing and simulation exercises, students are also given detailed lessons on daily challenges. The objective of soft-skills program is to ensure that the targeted youth will become successful employees who are equipped with self-confidence, professionalism, and the skills to work effectively.
The HVAC Vocational and Workplace Success Program is funded by the United States Department of State's Office of The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) "This program is made possible by support from The Middle East Partnership Initiative(MEPI). MEPI works with a growing network of reformers throughout the Middle East and North Africa to ensure that democracy can spread, education can thrive, economies can grow, and women can be empowered. For more information on MEPI and the types of programs it funds, visit http://www.mepi.state.gov.",. Technical training is provided by Al-Asalah Pioneers Technology Academy (APTA) in Amman, a training institution founded in March 2007 by entrepreneur Mr. Issam Samara, CEO of LG Electronics' exclusive commercial air-conditioning systems agent in Jordan, Al-Asalah Electromechanics Company.
For the Land Surveying and GIS Training Program, which was funded by employer-partner Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC), JCEF developed locally an intensive 379-hour curriculum including theoretical and practical training led by renowned and skilled trainers. The GIS program was developed to address a need for qualified personnel in the local market and was thus funded by CCC, which has committed to placing successful graduates in guaranteed jobs.
With scholarships from the London-based Karim Rida Said Foundation, the curriculum for the Teacher Training Program was developed by JCEF in collaboration with Arab Center for Educational Testing Services (ACETS). All students were required to complete internships in selected schools to apply their theoretical knowledge and skills into practical work, thoroughly monitored and evaluated by JCEF.
H.E. Eng. Omar Maani congratulated all students celebrating their graduation at the event: "The training programs that this institution is carrying out come in parallel to other programs initiated by private- and public-sector entities. These programs are designed to provide the corporate sector with human resources armed with the knowledge and skills they need to reduce unemployment rates and poverty levels caused by lack of work opportunities."
His Excellency added, "The current economic conditions, business trends, and technological developments experienced in Jordan all require human capacities that comply with the development needs of the country. I seize this occasion to commend the efforts made at the JCEF, and I further invite those behind this effort to adopt more programs like this one holding potential for Jordan's development and its labor market. I congratulate all graduates we are celebrating today and I wish them the best of luck."
Mr. Issam Samara, CEO of Al Asalah Pioneers Technology Academy (APTA), "We at APTA are proud to graduate our students as a result of the cooperative agreement between the Jordan Career Education Foundation and APTA in October of 2007, as we aimed at training our students on the technological skills of the HVAC systems in Jordan."
JCEF CEO Ms. Mayyada Abu-Jaber highlighted the achievements of the Foundation in training 54 young men and women, with a job placement rate of 92%. She stated that, most importantly, monitoring and evaluation of alumni continues for three months after graduation, as it is vital to interconnect with the students and to ensure that the trainees give back to the community.
To this effect, she added, "JCEF focuses its efforts on giving equal opportunities to various communities in Jordan as part of the community outreach initiative, targeting poverty pockets so that our graduates can aid their families after graduation, once they are successfully employed."
The youth emphasized and highlighted their various talents through artistic initiatives and mosaics of drama, to include acting sketches, songs, and traditional dance to portray the reality of work and youth in Jordan. Certificates were handed out to the trainees at the end of the graduation within an ambience exhilarated by joyous young professionals eager to enter the workforce with pride, world-class skills, and unmatched determination to excel.
TRACCS Jordan
Maha Al Rawashdeh
Tel: (+962) 6 5924114
Fax: (+962) 6 5924334
E-mail: jordan@traccs.net
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