The Business Development Center – BDC held Book Club activities for the beneficiaries of the “Tariqi” project. As one of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) projects over the past six years, Tariqi is being implemented this year in cooperation with BDC, and in partnership with the Prince Charles Foundation (PTI). This project illustrates BDC’s deep belief in spreading cultural awareness among young people in Jordan, reactivating reading skills and the role of literature and books in developing youth general knowledge.  The Book Clubs motivate Jordanian youth to read, especially in light of the technological progress witnessed around the globe and its great impact on reducing the use of books and their effective role in the development of cultural awareness and general knowledge amongst young people.

The “Tariqi” project, launched by the KAFD in 2015, aims to raise the employability of Jordanian youth and increase their competitiveness to enter the labor market through (1) training programs aimed at providing them with life skills, interpersonal, functional and technical skills, and (2) practical training, leading to employment within companies in specific sectors, by studying labor market needs and in close partnership with the private sector in determining them.

The project also aims to integrate the private sector and identifying the real needs of the labor market and providing the opportunity for companies to obtain qualified and trained youth through direct networking events and job fairs, which helps to shorten time and efforts, ensures a faster integration into the labor market and increases levels of productivity.

Since its launch, the project has provided more than 321 employment opportunities, in addition to training more than (679) beneficiaries on life and technical skills in growing economic sectors, linking them with job opportunities. The project also contributed to reducing the turnover through the counseling and follow-up sessions. Monitoring and evaluation indicated that 30% got a promotion shortly after starting their jobs.

The General Manager of the Business Development Center –BDC , Ghaleb Hijazi, appreciated the stages that the participant in the project goes through, starting with the selection for the ambitious program system, and ending with training and networking through the work place. He describes how this approach indicates to be one of the most appropriate ways for our Jordanian youth to integrate the labor market, in addition to the fact that sector-specific specializations open opportunities to young people and contribute to reducing unemployment rates, expressing his pride in the partnership with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) and the private sector to implement the project.

Muhammad Hassan, one of the beneficiaries of the “Tariqi” project, expressed the benefit of participating to the Book Club, as one of the most important human development activities where each participant presented a summary of one of the books related to development skills and entrepreneurship.

In addition, Ahmed Al-Mansi, one of the beneficiaries of the “Tariqi” project, stressed the importance of such activities in developing the capabilities of young graduates, in the presence of trainers with practical experience, and many activities such as the Book Club which contributed to raising their knowledge and awareness.