Key Moments
Remote Refugee Employment Through Business-to-Business Solutions: Lessons From Jordan - MS 2023
MIT OpenCourseWareKey Moments
Employing refugees remotely via B2B models in Jordan creates economic opportunities. Businesses connect globally, training youth for skilled IT jobs.
Key Insights
The B2B (Business-to-Business) model offers a sustainable remote employment solution for youth, including refugees.
Jordan faces a significant job market mismatch, with a large number of job seekers and limited opportunities.
The ICT sector in Jordan has high global demand, but a shortage of skilled professionals locally.
EFE-Jordan and Intaj partner to bridge the skills gap, connecting Jordanian IT companies with international clients.
Academic institutions play a crucial role in upskilling youth and refugees, aligning curricula with market needs.
Remote work, accelerated by the pandemic, opens new avenues for employment, particularly for women, regardless of nationality.
THE B2B MODEL FOR REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT
The session introduces a unique Business-to-Business (B2B) model designed to connect youth, including Syrian refugees and Jordanians, with remote job opportunities. This approach is facilitated by organizations like EFE-Jordan, working in collaboration with partners such as Intaj (the ICT Association of Jordan) and academic institutions. The core idea is to leverage the increasing global demand for IT services by connecting companies outside Jordan with Jordanian businesses that can provide these services, thereby creating local employment.
EFE-JORDAN'S ROLE AND TRACK RECORD
EFE-Jordan, a non-profit organization, focuses on creating economic opportunities for youth by identifying market needs and bridging the skills gap. Since 2006, they have trained over 22,000 youth in Jordan, with a significant portion being women. They began training refugees in 2015, navigating challenges like closed professions for Syrians. EFE-Jordan offers various tracks including job training and placement, entrepreneurship, and online freelancing, adapting to market demands.
THE ICT SECTOR'S POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES IN JORDAN
Jordan's ICT sector is identified as a significant opportunity due to global demand, yet it faces a substantial local job mismatch, with many graduates being unemployed. Intaj highlights that while Jordan has around 2,000 ICT companies employing 26,000 people, the revenue is around three billion USD. The sector has a higher female participation rate (33%) compared to the national average (14%), but more efforts are needed to increase this. Global shortages in IT specialists, estimated at billions of dollars, underscore the potential.
INTAJ'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE ICT ECOSYSTEM
Intaj, the ICT Association of Jordan, works to foster the growth of the ICT sector through various pillars. These include advocating for a better business environment, promoting digital transformation in other sectors, developing human capital by bridging academia and industry gaps, providing access to markets through international fairs, offering market intelligence, and supporting startups. Intaj's efforts have led to significant tax reductions for IT services, making Jordan more competitive globally.
THE SOURCE-TECH INITIATIVE AND B2B MECHANISM
The Source-Tech initiative, a partnership between EFE-Jordan, Intaj, and supported by GIZ, exemplifies the B2B model. It focuses on skilled Jordanian talents (youth and women), connecting them with Jordanian IT companies that possess competitive advantages. These Jordanian companies then offer outsourcing services to regional and international clients, particularly in Europe and the US. This model aims to create jobs within Jordan rather than encouraging emigration.
THE ACADEMIA'S ROLE IN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Academic institutions, like Hashemite University, are crucial in addressing the employability crisis. Dr. Ibrahim Mansour emphasized the need to understand the refugee crisis, generate knowledge, and influence policies. Universities are urged to upskill students and refugees by aligning curricula with job market needs, potentially through hybrid degrees and professional certifications. They also play a role in fostering a conducive environment for refugees and ensuring validation and accreditation of acquired skills.
IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
The B2B model involves assessing Jordanian IT companies' readiness, building their marketing narratives, and facilitating matchmaking with international clients. EFE-Jordan then sources, assesses, and reskills youth based on identified needs, aiming for a key performance indicator of 250 well-trained individuals placed. The model is designed for sustainability, potentially generating revenue through a percentage of successful deals. There's a clear intention to scale this model and replicate it in other regions.
Mentioned in This Episode
●Software & Apps
●Companies
●Organizations
●Concepts
●People Referenced
Common Questions
The B2B solution is a model connecting businesses outside Jordan with Jordanian IT companies. This creates remote job opportunities for Jordanian youth and refugees, where they work for Jordanian companies that fulfill the requirements of international clients.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
Part of the Hashemite University's Career Center initiatives, offering training in communication and soft skills.
Collaborates with Hashemite University to provide English proficiency classes for students and refugees.
A national portal managed by Intaj that lists all startups, VCs, service providers, support organizations, and creators in Jordan.
The ICT Association of Jordan, founded in 1999 with the vision of making Jordan an ICT Hub. It represents the private ICT sector and works on business enabling environments, digital economy promotion, human capital development, market access, information access, and supporting startups and entrepreneurship.
CEO of Intaj, the ICT Association in Jordan, who presents on Intaj's role and the B2B model.
A new law currently being discussed with members of parliament in Jordan, crucial for the IT sector.
A unique model connecting businesses outside Jordan with Jordanian IT companies to create remote job opportunities for local youth and refugees.
An organization whose reports have highlighted the problems and responsibilities related to refugees.
An example of an international platform for freelancers.
Facilitating linkages with Ireland for Jordanian IT companies through meetings arranged by the ambassador.
A non-profit organization operating in Jordan and other countries, focused on creating economic opportunities for youth by identifying market needs and bridging the gap between youth skills and employment.
A tech female economic empowerment unit launched by Intaj in partnership with GIZ, aiming to highlight the value of empowering tech females in the workplace.
A university in Jordan where Dr. Ibrahim Mansoor is an associate professor and director of the career center, actively involved in programs for students and refugees.
Jordan hosts around 1 million Syrian refugees, presenting a significant demographic group facing employment challenges.
An emerging technology sector with high demand for skilled professionals, relevant to both university programs and refugee employment.
Associate Professor of Accounting and Director of the Hashemite University Career Center, who discusses academic institutions' role in refugee employment and skill development.
The technology sector in Jordan, which has a high demand internationally for skilled professionals but faces a significant graduate unemployment rate locally.
A global accreditation standard relevant for educational institutions, including curriculum development.
A document emphasizing the critical voice of academia in comprehensive refugee response.
A key regional market with a booming economy and high demand for IT resources, where Intaj is focusing its B2B efforts.
An organization that Intaj partners with to connect with Irish tech companies during the Dublin Tech Summit.
Facilitating linkages with Sweden for Jordanian IT companies.
One of the institutions with which Hashemite University has MOUs for internship opportunities for students.
Mentioned as a potential source of funding for Jordanian universities and also as a country with a large IT skill shortage.
Facilitating linkages with France for Jordanian IT companies.
An accreditation standard for business education programs.
A firm partnering with Hashemite University to restructure accounting curriculums.
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