Latest news with #GovernmentCommunicationForum
Ammon
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Ammon
Samawi: Jerash Festival 2025 will be in 8 governorates
Ammon News - Executive Director of Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts, Ayman Samawi, on Tuesday announced that Jerash Festival for this year will be in 8 governorates, not only in Jerash governorate. During the Government Communication Forum, Samawi said that the activities schedule in each governorate will be announced.
Jordan News
15-07-2025
- Business
- Jordan News
Minister of Labor: 430,000 Young Jordanians Unemployed - Jordan News
Dr. Khalid Al-Bakkar, Minister of Labor, and Dr. Zaid Al-Nawaiseh, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Government Communication, held a media briefing on Tuesday titled "The Impact of Organizing the Labor Market on Providing Job Opportunities for Jordanians," as part of the Government Communication Forum series. اضافة اعلان During the meeting, Al-Bakkar reviewed the ministry's plans and programs related to labor market regulation, management of non-Jordanian labor affairs, the establishment of a Labor Market Observatory, and the development of a pilot Labor Market Information System. He also discussed efforts in training, employment, and inspection procedures. Al-Bakkar stated: "The number of unemployed young men and women in Jordan has reached 430,000. The ministry's decisions align with the goals of the Economic Modernization Vision to absorb these numbers in the coming years, while leveraging economic growth rates and investment volumes." He highlighted the presence of about 350,000 Jordanians working in the informal sector without any insurance programs, noting the ministry's ongoing efforts to regulate this sector and integrate these workers into the formal system. The minister announced the completion of the pilot version of the Labor Market Information System, planned for launch by the end of this year. This system aims to support ministry decisions by providing updated evidence-based data to align labor supply and demand. This system will be connected with all relevant government partners including the Department of Statistics, Social Security Corporation, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission, and coordinated with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship to ensure high cybersecurity standards within government servers. Al-Bakkar outlined the four-phase plan for completing the Labor Market Observatory, which aims to evaluate labor market performance indicators to support decision-making and policy development. He stressed the ministry's dedication to closely monitoring all labor market details through an early warning system, designed to provide an accurate picture of economic and financial conditions of companies, predict failing businesses, and detail Jordanian and non-Jordanian workforce proportions and companies' compliance with hiring Jordanians. Regarding the employment and training system, Al-Bakkar said that the number of productive branches and units, a royal initiative implemented by the ministry, has risen to 33 units and branches currently employing 9,298 Jordanians. The capacity of these branches reaches 11,711 workers, with females comprising about 90.8% of the workforce and persons with disabilities about 4.2%. In response to royal directives to increase productive branches across governorates, there are currently 5 new branches, 3 under construction, and 6 in planning, all aiming to employ Jordanians near their residences to save time and effort. Concerning the National Employment Program, Al-Bakkar revealed that by mid-2025, the program supported 51,291 employment contracts and benefited 1,651 private-sector establishments. Over 10,000 job seekers registered during the first six months of 2025, while the ministry's employment directorates placed around 3,673 Jordanians in various sectors in the first half of the year. Additionally, 34 job fairs were held during this period. The training and employment system is also linked to the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC), which operates 30 training institutes, 8 distinguished centers, 426 trainers, and 128 training programs, including 23 newly introduced and 76 updated courses. Around 10,850 trainees enrolled in VTC programs, with a graduate employment rate of approximately 62%. Al-Bakkar noted that, in partnership with the private sector, the VTC is establishing specialized academies tailored to competitive and investment advantages. Examples include academies for manufacturing industries, agricultural technology, tourism and hospitality, e-commerce, leather and garments, culinary arts, jewelry, and vehicle maintenance. Regarding entrepreneurship support, the minister highlighted the role of the Development and Employment Fund in supporting small and medium enterprises and offering financing programs targeting youth and women. These include financing for electric vehicles and scooters (in cooperation with Jordan Post), economic empowerment of women, financing new and developing projects, supporting pioneering initiatives, and skills-based employment programs. By mid-2025, the fund disbursed about 9.74 million dinars to finance 733 projects, creating 1,411 job opportunities across all governorates. On regulating non-Jordanian labor, the ministry has taken several measures including reviewing the ratio of Jordanian to non-Jordanian workers in various sectors. It opened sector transfers in late 2024 to serve employers' needs and signed memoranda of understanding with several sectors to determine their needs for non-Jordanian labor versus hiring Jordanians. The ministry also amended work permit fees, reducing charges for skilled workers and canceling exit/re-entry permits for Egyptian workers. Workers from Gaza were exempted from fines for delayed permit renewals, and Syrian workers were exempted from fees and fines between June 30, 2024, and June 30, 2025. Joint inspection campaigns with the Interior Ministry and Public Security Directorate targeted illegal non-Jordanian workers. These efforts led to the deportation of 4,552 non-Jordanian workers in the first half of 2025, compared to 1,509 in 2024. Al-Bakkar affirmed the ministry's commitment to protecting workers' rights and ensuring private sector compliance with occupational health and safety standards through specialized directorates. During the first half of 2025, the ministry received 5,428 labor complaints via the "Himaya" electronic platform, most of which were resolved. Inspection teams visited 14,889 workplaces, with intensified inspections in sectors with high complaints or related to child labor, occupational health and safety, and employment of persons with disabilities. The ministry's directorate for domestic workers manages all issues related to household workers and recruitment offices, raising awareness among workers about their rights and clarifying employers' responsibilities. Regarding labor disputes, Al-Bakkar stated that the ministry handled 26 disputes in the first half of 2025, with 22 resolved through direct negotiation, while the rest remain under review. Dr. Zaid Al-Nawaiseh emphasized the importance of aligning vocational and technical training with labor market demands to create job opportunities for Jordanians. He noted that organizing the labor market and providing national employment programs help balance market needs with job availability. He added that the ministry is working on establishing a comprehensive, clear labor market information system that accurately reflects market reality as a strategic step toward enhancing labor market efficiency and supporting the Kingdom's economic and social development.
Jordan News
03-06-2025
- Business
- Jordan News
571,000 Tourists Visited Jordan by End of May, Marking 27% Increase – Details - Jordan News
Director General of the Jordan Tourism Board, Dr. Abdul Razzaq Arabiyat, announced that the tourism sector has experienced a significant boost over the past two months (April and May), with a noticeable improvement in performance reflected in rising figures. He made the remarks during a meeting held on Tuesday at the Government Communication Forum, attended by Zaid Al-Nawaiseh, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Government Communication, to discuss the future outlook of tourism in Jordan. اضافة اعلان Arabiyat stated that the total number of tourists increased by 27% in May compared to the same period last year, reaching 571,000 visitors during the current month. He also confirmed that from the beginning of the year until the end of May 2025, the number of tourists rose by 25%. This growth is largely attributed to the resumption of air travel, including the full return of Royal Jordanian Airlines' routes, the launch of new routes, and the comeback of low-cost carriers, which introduced 14 new routes since April 1. These include 27 weekly flights from European countries such as Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, and Romania. Additionally, Wizz Air has launched six new routes to Amman from four European countries and one from Abu Dhabi. Arabiyat highlighted that the number of passengers arriving via low-cost airlines reached 102,000 by the end of May 2025, across 578 flights, with the vast majority being tourists — as only 14% of them were Jordanians.
Ammon
03-06-2025
- Business
- Ammon
JTB: Jordan welcomes 571,000 tourists last May
Ammon News - Director-General of Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), Dr. Abdul Razzaq Arabiyat, announced a 27% rise in total tourist numbers for May, reaching 571,000. During his statements during the Government Communication Forum, Arabiyat said that 14 new low-cost airlines have returned to Amman since last April from 10 Arab countries.
Jordan News
15-05-2025
- Business
- Jordan News
Gov't forum reviews Public Service and Administration Commission achievements - Jordan News
Gov't forum reviews Public Service and Administration Commission achievements The Government Communication Forum held a meeting with media representatives on Wednesday on the Public Service and Administration Commission's achievements and aspirations in its second Year. اضافة اعلان The commission's chairman Fayez Al-Nahar said his institution carried out its new role in drawing up policies, technical and advisory support, and oversight and compliance. He went over the stages of the commission's establishment, the reasons for change in its roles, and areas of work, which include leadership, human resources, government services, joint services, corporate culture, organizational structures, and institutional planning and development. Al-Nahar said the new public sector recruitment strategy primarily relies on open advertisements, noting that the commission has carried out 70 percent of recruitments through open adverts and only 30 percent were via the available competitive inventory, which will be canceled entirely by 2027 with the aim of ensuring fairness and equal opportunity for all. The public sector recruitment strategy, he said, currently adopts an integrated approach to keep pace with transformations in human resources management and ensure optimal utilization of national competencies, as it starts with proactive planning of job needs through the Human Resources Planning Committee. Job openings are then announced on official websites and daily newspapers, ensuring transparency and equal opportunity, he added. Government entities, he said, screen applications and identify a list of candidates according to the job requirements, and competencies are then assessed using specific tools and criteria, including tests and personal interviews with a focus on skills needed, knowledge, and behaviors. Interviews are conducted by specialized committees, while the Competency Assessment Center offers various tools to objectively evaluate applicants, enhancing selection accuracy, added Al-Nahar. Ministry of Government Communication Secretary General Zaid Nawaiseh said the Public Service and Administration Commission was established after implementation of the public sector modernization roadmap began, and that its outcomes are in line with the political and economic modernization scheme as a gateway to the second centennial of the Jordanian state. The commission, he said, began work on the human resources system and amendments to the civil service system, which he called "a historic transformation" in Jordanian public administration. //Petra//SS
