Amman - The percentage of enrolment in the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) was much higher by the end of last month than that of the same period last year, but remains below expectation, officials acknowledged.
According to VTC figures, the total number of regular students who registered with the VTC's 49 centres between Aug. 1-30 stood at 2,768, compared to 1,777 in the same period in 2004.
Regular students are those who have finished 10 grades of basic education and are referred to the VTC by the various education departments.
The increase was witnessed in the central, northern and southern regions of the Kingdom. Enrolment numbers in the south rose from 285 on Aug. 30 last year to 405 by the end of the same month this year. The northern region reported a similar increase in the same period - from 236 to 459.
VTC Northern Region Director Talal Radaideh said the ministry customarily refers 6,000-7,000 basic education graduates to the corporation.
The registration deadline is Sept. 15, but Radaideh said it might be extended to Sept. 30.
Regular students participate in several two-year programmes and are supposed to join the labour market, in areas there is demand for the skills taught by the VTC centres. The corporation offers three levels of training on the vocational training pyramid for semi-skilled workers, skilled workers and craftsmen.
In parallel with the regular courses, the VTC also trains citizens on more than 35 programmes on a demand-driven basis and in collaboration with the private sector.
The Ministry of Education applies a system under which 10th graders have to fill a priority list of the branches of education they want to move into during their secondary education. Historically, VTC centres are the least favoured choice, due to the fact that the vocational training system is closed and does not allow even excelling students to complete their higher studies.
VTC Director General Ziad Matarneh recently told The Jordan Times that it targets 50 per cent of the Kingdom's workforce, and about 60 per cent of the unemployed.
He said the problem inherent in such a situation is that these programmes attract only basic education dropouts, estimated at 20,000-25,000 youngsters yearly, constituting the lowest achieving 10th grade graduates and those who fail the Tawjihi.
Matarneh said staff at the VTC training centres have to fight the lack of motivation and sense of frustration among these young trainees, who regard themselves as the leftovers of an educational system that has exiled them into the vocational training sector. This adds to the so-called "culture of shame" which prevents the youth from taking certain jobs in the hospitality, construction and agriculture sectors.
Radaideh and other VTC officials have expressed concern that the turnout of vocational training seekers might remain below expectation.
Lack of motivation on the part of would-be trainees is not the only problem faced by the VTC this year. VTC officials from around the Kingdom recently told The Jordan Times that many potential trainees were waiting to join the second phase of the National Training Programme.
The programme, which is run independently under the umbrella of the VTC, trained about 10,000 Jordanians in its first stage, but officials have acknowledged that it had failed to achieve its objectives.
Officials said students naturally prefer the nation-wide programme because they are paid monthly allowances during the course, which also includes basic military training for three months. Such an incentive is missing in regular VTC programmes where students have to pay JD40 per semester in fees.
But the government is not likely to continue with the programme in its present form, according to Matarneh, who said the problem with the national programme is that it was competing with the VTC centres and offering the same courses.
"It was supposed to train people in the very sectors they shun like construction and agriculture," he said.
By Mahmoud Al Abed
© Jordan Times 2005
