Imagine the impact of creating meaningful career pathways for young people and helping them bridge the gap between education and the skills employers really need. This was the vision we held when we embarked upon our first project to develop a Skills Academy in Abdali, a district in Jordan’s Amman municipality.

Home to almost half of the population of Jordan with 60% being under the age of 30, nearly half of these young were out of work. Despite this, in the private sector many companies were struggling to recruit people with the right skills. Looking for solutions to these problems, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invested in a new Mall complex. The development aimed to create 2,000 new jobs in in retail, hospitality, entertainment and facility management roles and required the creation of a training and recruitment facility. Its aim being to enable young people to acquire employment skills they need and to develop a well-trained workforce for the new complex.

Our Skills Academy Model offered a socially inclusive approach. Offering effective job-matching, industry-relevant training and employment services, the model set about supporting young people to get jobs and to build skills-sets that match business needs using employer driven training programmes.

In partnership with EBRD, Abdali Mall, Jordan Education for Employment (JEFE), we set up the Abdali Recruitment and Training Centre. The Centre pioneered a new culture of social inclusion and workforce development by:

• Enabling youth employment by focusing on creating pathways for young people to enter the workforce, addressing the often-cited gap between education and the skills employers need.
• Enhancing employability by improving the skills of young people in the local area, helping reduce unemployment and support economic growth within the community.
• Supporting employers with a readily available pool of trained candidates.
• Being situated in the heart of the local business community, providing a well-equipped training venue, making it convenient for trainees and ongoing skills development.

In 2018, through the continued partnership between People 1st International, Abdali Mall, EBRD and JEFE, we extended the existing training and job brokerage programmes through the Abdali Mall Recruitment & Training Centre to young Syrian refugees in an effort to broaden the impact of enhanced skills training for young people and to provide an even greater skills base for local businesses. 75% of the participants who went through the Skills Academy programme secured employment.

Fast forward eight years, and we’ve since introduced the Skills Academy Model through a further 10 projects, including the Almaza Training and Recruitment Centre in Egypt which launched in 2021, taking lessons from the success of Abdali Training and Recruitment Centre. We’ve also supported companies such as MedLabs Consultancy Group, a prominent Jordanian company in laboratory medicine to setup The Academy by MedLabs.

So, what makes the Skills Academy Model effective? We’re passionate about the approach because it’s industry-driven, meaning that the curriculum is shaped by employer needs. Key success points include:

• Effective mobilisation: Engagement with local employers to identify industry skills needs and tailor the programme accordingly.
• Thorough skills needs analysis: Assessment of student skills to ensure they are placed in the most suitable training programmes.
• Job readiness training: Essential skills including communication, teamwork, and industry knowledge to prepare students for the workforce.
• Technical and entrepreneurship training: Industry-specific training and opportunities for industry engagement to enhance learning.
• Job placement support: Job fairs, graduation ceremonies and offer ongoing support to help students secure employment.
• Evaluation: Tracking graduate success and feedback to continually refine the programmes and services.

To learn how the Skills Academy Model can boost economic and social growth in your company or region, get in touch.