On behalf of the French Ambassador to Jordan, Luc Le Cabellec, the French Development Agency (AFD) Country Director for Jordan and Iraq, and Catherine Bonnaud, the AFD regional director for the Middle East, visited the Anabtawi factory, one of the industrial private sector’s main factories that support the "Tanmyeh” project

The Anabtawi factory offers on-job vocational training to youth and women, aiming at getting them involved and finding a job in the industrial sector.

The "Tanmyeh” project, funded by the AFD and implemented by the Business Development Centre (BDC), aims at enhancing the livelihoods of vulnerable groups among Syrian refugees and host population by facilitating their access to employment in the manufacturing sector in Jordan, according to a BDC statement.

This is done by providing ad-hoc and vocational training to 2,000 youth within the 18-30 age brackets in order to improve their employability in this sector — with 70 per cent of them gaining new jobs, improved positions or self-employment, the statement said. The project is part of the Vocational Training and Access to Employment programme in Jordan funded under the MINKA Middle East Initiative.

The project comes as a response to labour market needs in five targeted locations in Jordan: East and South Amman, Irbid, Zarqa, Jerash and Ajloun. 

During the visit, Cabellec met the general manager of Anabtawi factory, Nael Anabtawi, who briefed him on the vocational training the beneficiaries are receiving. 

Cabellec had a tour of the vocational training centre inside the factory and spent time with the "Tanmyeh” trained professionals while they were preparing oriental sweets. 

Bonnaud said she is proud of the Jordanian experience in integrating youth in the vocational sector through the "Tanmyeh” project. "This is vital both for the beneficiaries and the employers alike, especially given the current situation where industries are heavily affected by the COVID-19 implications,” she said. 

Nayef Stetieh, BDC CEO and president, said the BDC is proud of its partnership with AFD. He said that during the past 17 years, the BDC managed to support youth and women through designing demand-driven customised projects to integrate them in the labour market and encourage job creation in non-traditional sectors.  

Anam Hariri, a Syrian refugee, said: "I feel more empowered after completing the Tanmyeh project.  The project provided me with courage, confidence and motivation through shaping my skills and knowledge. Today, I broke the culture of shame: I am a productive hardworking woman and my dream is to open my own sweets’ factory”.