The Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) has announced the launch of a free-of-charge training programme in cooperation with Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission (TVSDC).

The programme aims to train 1,000 unemployed women and men in all governorates to help them enroll in the labour force, VTC General Manager Ziad Obeidat said in a statement made available to The Jordan Times.

"This special training programme is initiated to cover the needs of the domestic and regional private sector for specialised technicians and specialists in safety and occupational health sector,” Obeidat said.

The training programme was designed to empower young women and men to enter the labour market, especially that the Jordanian law obliges institutions to hire safety and occupational health specialists depending on the number of employees working at the institute, he said.

Obeidat noted that the candidates for the programme will be chosen based on standards that will be announced with the launch of the electronic portal on the VTC website next month.

He also added that 75 per cent of the training programme will be held online through interactive portals and 25 per cent at the training centres or other locations.

For his part, TVSDC Board Director Qais Al Safasfeh said that the commission supports this training programme to enable the VTC   to make it free of charge for trainees selected from all governorates, mainly from places with the high unemployment rates among youth. 

The labour market is in need of safety and occupational health specialists, he said in the statement.

The VTC is the first local and regional training centre that offered safety and occupational health programme, according to Safasfeh.