Dr.
Robert Jenkins, the UNICEF Jordan country representative, delivered a lecture
titled: “Volunteerism Empowering Youth in Jordan for Better Opportunities for
Employment” on October 8th, 2018 at The Prince Al Hussein bin
Abdullah II School of International Studies.
The
youth nowadays face various barriers in relation to education and employment.
Many of them are not enrolled in educational institutions or workplaces, which
may curb their progressing process. Thus, Dr. Jenkins emphasized the importance
of acquiring soft skills in particular in order for the youth to engage in the
community.
He
also highlighted that education and employment must be blended, where education
alone is not sufficient. For example, Tatawa3, an application for voluntary
work, provides the youth with volunteering opportunities to enhance their
skills that the workplaces require of job seekers.
Towards
the end of the lecture, Dr. Jenkins threw the following question at the
audience: “Is it a helpful thing to provide the youth with these volunteering
opportunities?” The majority of the respondents agreed that volunteering is
critical for the youth. However, they mentioned some obstacles that may hinder gaining
such opportunities such as the lack of internet access. He also engaged the
audience in thinking about another issue, which is: “Why women are highly
engaged in education, but their engagement in employment does not amount to the
same level?”
By: Nada Abu Sbeih