AMMAN, Jordan (ILO News) - An ILO delegation, led by Regional Director for Arab States Ruba Jaradat, has inspected first-hand the impact of vital work the ILO is conducting through the Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) in Jordan.

The delegation visited sites of several projects implemented by the programme to improve the environment, community infrastructure facilities and local municipal services, while providing short-term jobs for both vulnerable Jordanian communities and Syrian refugees.

The programme, funded by the Government of Germany through the KfW development bank, also seeks to support communities in the medium and long terms through market-based skills training, improved access to the labour market, and entrepreneurship support. Special efforts are made to involve women and those with disabilities, who are often particularly disadvantaged.

“In all the sites we visited today, the impact of the ILO’s employment-intensive programme in improving financial and living conditions for vulnerable communities and promoting sustainable development in Jordan was clearly evident,” said Regional Director Jaradat. “We are grateful to the Government of Germany for their support for this vital programme, and extend thanks to our national and local partners for ensuring the programme’s continued success.” 

The delegation visited the sites of three vital projects implemented by the programme, beginning at Al Basiliya Municipality in Mafraq, where the programme is building a children’s playground and planting Paulownia trees which have numerous environmental and economic benefits. This project is part of the infrastructure community component of the programme, and is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Local Administration and several local municipalities. The project aims to generate 1,250 decent jobs with 110,000 working days.

The delegation observed how infrastructure improvements are supporting the overall objectives of the programme, including job creation, local capacity building and community development.

Illustrative image (internet)

ILO Regional Director Ruba Jaradat (centre right) speaking with team members of Al Basiliya Park, which includes infrastructure works for a children's playground and the planting of Paulownia trees.

The site of the EIIP agroforestry component was next on the list of the delegation’s itinerary, where they inspected the site of an afforestation project which supports Jordan in meeting its national afforestation target of planting 10 million trees over five years. The project has adopted the “cocoon” method of using biodegradable incubators to plant young tree saplings sustainably and affordably. The project covers 342 hectares of land in six locations in north-western Jordan, and plans to plant 120,000 trees by the end of the project, generating 1,250 jobs with 110,000 working days.

The delegation met with local community members, workers and stakeholders involved in the project to discuss their experiences, the challenges they face, and the benefits they’ve gained from the initiative.

The delegation then visited the Jerash Women’s Association, one of the sites of the EIIP skills and enterprise component, which focuses on transitioning workers from short-term jobs to more sustainable employment. This component benefits previous EIIP workers through skills training and entrepreneurship support, and aims to train a total of 1,100 workers. Additionally, by the end of the project, 200 people will have received training to start their own small businesses, with some receiving seed funding.

At the Jerash Women’s Association, the delegation met trainees participating in the project’s textile training course. A number of the trainees who successfully complete the course will be transferred to long-term jobs within the Jordanian garment industry.

Regional Director Jaradat, ILO delegation members, and Miami Business Center representative discussing textile training module with EIIP beneficiary trainees at Jerash Women’s Association

In addition to Regional Director Jaradat, the ILO delegation consisted of ILO Jordan Country Coordinator Amal Mowafy, EIIP Jordan Chief Technical Advisor Shailendra Jha, and members of the ILO EIIP Jordan team. During the visit, the delegation met with Director of the Forestry Department at the Ministry of Agriculture Engineer Khaled Al Manaseer, Director of the Al Koura Agriculture Directorate Engineer Izdihar Al Sirhan, Mayor of Al Basiliya Municipality Dr. Taleb Al Hamad, and General Manager of the Miami Business Center Doaa Hajeer.