Nayrouz News Agency : An agreement has been signed by the Ministry of Labour and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to launch six new centres dedicated to employing, mentoring and training youth in the agricultural sector, a first in the Kingdom.

In a statement made available to The Jordan Times, the Ministry of Labour announced that it would be cooperating with local organisations to establish the six centres in four governorates — Mafraq, Irbid, Zarqa and Balqaa.

The centres will have the capacity to employ around 500 young Jordanian men and women who are graduates of "Khidmat Watan” (the National Service Programme), the statement added. 

The National Service Programme, which was launched by the Labour Ministry and the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army to provide vocational training in various industry, construction and tourism fields for some 20,000 Jordanian youth, was announced as a "top government priority” for the years 2019-2020.

"The [recent] agreement aims to standardise the workforce in the sector, provide career guidance and create more opportunities for young men and women,” Ministry of Labour Spokesperson Ghaida Awamleh told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

In cooperation with the Vocational and Technical Skills Development Commission, the ministry and the Labour Organisation are "hoping to support various training programmes that will open new doors for Jordanian workers regardless of their current technical and vocational skills”, Awamleh added.

The spokesperson noted that the campaign, titled "No One Plants it Better than its Own People”, aims to "help achieve social justice and contribute to the Kingdom’s larger development narrative”.

"His Majesty King Abdullah has noted that this year will be the year of agriculture and the year of creating job opportunities within the agricultural sector,” Awamleh said, adding that the King has made several trips to agricultural sites and has directed the government to support the sector.

The agricultural sector is of "mounting importance to non-urban communities”, according to Awamleh.