Jordan: Education, Labour Market, Migration
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Amsterdam, 09 April 2019 Commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jordan: education, labour market, migration Annex B to “Dutch labour market shortages and potential labour supply from Africa and the Middle East” (SEO Report No. 2019-24) Dajani Consulting Francoise de Bel-Air SEO Amsterdam Economics Roetersstraat 29 - 1018 WB Amsterdam - T (+31) 20 525 1630 - F (+31) 020 525 1686 - www.seo.nl - [email protected] ABN-AMRO IBAN: NL14ABNA0411744356 BIC: ABNANL2A - ING: IBAN: NL96INGB0004641100 BIC: INGBNL2A KvK Amsterdam 41197444 - BTW NL 003023965 B “Solid research, Sound advice” SEO Amsterdam Economics carries out independent applied economic research on behalf of national and international clients – both public institutions and private sector clients. Our research aims to make a major contribution to the decision-making processes of our clients. 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Permission can be obtained by contacting: [email protected] JORDAN: EDUCATION, LABOUR MARKET, MIGRATION i Table of contents Acronyms ............................................................................................................................. i Summary .............................................................................................................................. i 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 2 Education ................................................................................................................. 3 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Primary Education ................................................................................................................ 5 2.3 Secondary Education ............................................................................................................ 6 2.4 Vocational Education ........................................................................................................... 8 2.5 Tertiary education ................................................................................................................ 11 2.6 Outflow ................................................................................................................................. 13 2.7 Studying abroad ................................................................................................................... 17 2.8 Policy .....................................................................................................................................18 3 Labour Market ......................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Employment ......................................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Vacancies .............................................................................................................................. 27 3.4 Unemployment .................................................................................................................... 29 3.5 Key challenges ...................................................................................................................... 30 4 Migration .................................................................................................................35 4.1 Inward Migration ................................................................................................................. 35 4.2 Outward Migration .............................................................................................................. 39 4.3 Syrian Migrants .................................................................................................................... 41 4.4 Migration policies ................................................................................................................ 44 References .......................................................................................................................... 51 SEO AMSTERDAM ECONOMICS JORDAN: EDUCATION, LABOUR MARKET, MIGRATION i Acronyms GDP Gross domestic product USD United States Dollar UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UN United Nations IMF International Monetary Fund VTC Vocational Training Corporation MoE Ministry of Education MoHE Ministry of Higher Education DoS Department of Statistics E-TVET Employment Technical and vocational education and training fund GESC General Secondary Education Certificate OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training DEE Development and Employment Fund UAE United Arab Emirates EU European Union NGO Non-govenmental organisation GCC Gulf Cooperation Council JRP Jordan response plan MOL Ministry of Labour MoFA Minister of Foreign Affairs MoI Ministry of Interior IOM International Organisation for Migration ILO International Labour Organisation ICMPD International Centre for Migration Policy Development IRO International Refugee Organisation SEO AMSTERDAM ECONOMICS JORDAN: EDUCATION, LABOUR MARKET, MIGRATION i Summary Jordan is a small, middle-income country, established in 1921, that has been termed ‘the top refugee hosting country in the world.’ Since 1948, the political instability in the region has led to substantial inflows of migrants over the years, including from Palestine, Iraq, Yemen, and more recently large numbers of Syrian refugees. As a result , the Jordanian population is estimated to have increased by nearly 45%, from around 7 million in 2011 to around 10 million in 2017, and over 30 percent of the population are now non-Jordanians. The Jordanian population is characterised by relatively high levels of education compared to the neighbouring countries, but the quality of education is a concern. Primary enrolment rates are nearly 100 percent for the native population, and nearly 18% of Jordanians have a university degree. While Jordan does host several top universities with international rankings, there are indications that the quality of education in Jordan deteriorated during 2007-2015. Mathematics test scores are now at a similar level as in Morocco (and worse than in Egypt). Jordan has hosted 1.3 million Syrian refugees since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, leading to an increase of the Jordan population by 20%. Only about half of these are registered as refugees by the UNHCR. The majority of 81% is living in host communities, whereas the remainder is resided inside living camps. Syrians in Jordan tend to come from rural villages and smaller towns in Syria, and are substantially lower educated than Syrian refugees in Europe, with 60% above the age of 15 not having completed high school. Most of them tend to work in low- skilled jobs, mostly in the informal sector. Around one third of Syrian refugees are of school-going age, but only 65 percent for Syrian refugee children are enrolled in Jordanian schools. The Jordanian labour market faces significant challenges. Youth unemployment is around 37%, and has risen for 20-24 year olds in recent years. Unemployment among women rose from 24% to over 30%. Jordanians with a bachelor’s degree face the highest unemployment rate (23%). As many as 54 percent of women with a university degree were unemployed in 2017. In this context, facilitating the labour force integration of Syrian refugees is a major challenge. With support from the international community, the Jordanian government is committed to taking numerous measures to support labour market integration of Syrian refugees. SEO AMSTERDAM ECONOMICS JORDAN: EDUCATION, LABOUR MARKET, MIGRATION 1 1 Introduction The Jordanian economy suffers from low economic growth rates due to the lack of available economic resources. In addition, Jordan’s economy has been affected by crises, conflicts and wars in the region ever since 1948. The inflow of refugees to Jordan has played a key role in the Jordan’s increased total population. The migrants’ and refugees’ main countries of origin include Palestine, Iraq, Syria and Yemen1. 31% of Jordan’s total population consists of non-Jordanians. The majority of this population group are refugees living in camps or in host communities.2 A continuous increase to a total