The Employment Fair & Training Expo for the Southern Region concludes with 272 immediate employments

Under the patronage of the Minister of Labour, H.E. Bassem Khalil Al Salem, The Employment Fair and Training Expo for the Southern Region was officially opened in the attendance of the Minister of Labour Secretary General H.E. Majed Habashneh, Karak Governor H.E. Fawaz Irsheidat and The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director, Mr. Jay Knott.

The job fair, organized by the USAID-funded SABEQ Program and the Ministry of Labor, witnessed a substantial turn out from job seekers and students seeking training, where more than 3000 participants from the southern governorates attended the two day event.

"I am thrilled with the results that I have witnessed today; there were 272 immediate employment appointments during the two day event including engineers, accountants, laborers, security, drivers, data entry personnel etc. We anticipate the hiring of more job seekers in the coming months as the typical applicant screening process continues." said Jay Knott during the event.

"We will continue to host such events in the regions that will result in the employment of Jordanians." he added.

The job fair included an interactive theatre, which was introduced as a new tactic in addressing critical topics of unemployment and culture of shame; the interactive theater assembled 1690 attendees for a 20 minute dynamic exchange between the facilitator and audience.

Additionally, seven training sessions centered on topics such as "What After Graduation", "Leadership and Emotional Intelligence" and "How to Start Your Own Business" were held and attended by 220 people.

The capacity building services and guidance counseling sessions in areas such as resume development, hosted 1127 job seekers.

In parallel to the job fair, H.E Fawaz Irsheidat, Governor of Karak, inaugurated the "Product and Services Expo" in Karak which will support local partners and women NGOs in establishing a permanent exhibition center to display their handicraft and agricultural products, thus increasing their exposure to a variety of markets.

The job fair hosted other organizations that support students, new university graduates and job seekers in enhancing their business skills, and facilitating their access to finance to assist entrepreneurs in beginning or expanding their own businesses. These companies include Micro Finance Organizations and the Vocational Training Corporation.

The USAID-funded Sustainable Achievement of Business Expansion and Quality Program (SABEQ) is a five year broad economic development initiative implemented by BearingPoint, Inc. and a sizeable team of international and Jordanian partner firms. By both supporting improvements in the business environment and providing assistance to expand innovation and productivity in Jordanian businesses, to support the main objective of building up the private sector as a powerful engine of economic growth.