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