Al Anbat -Ayah
Awwad
Friday, August 12, marks International Youth Day, and this
year came under the slogan "Solidarity between generations: Creating a world
for all ages”, with the aim of spreading the message that there is a need to
work across generations to achieve the goals of sustainable development and to
avoid leaving anyone behind. This occasion is also intended to raise awareness
of some of the obstacles that prevent intergenerational solidarity. The Global Agenda for Sustainable Development
recommended that countries of the world measure the percentage of young people
who are not enrolled in education, training or work, and this percentage is
high among Jordanian youth.
The Higher Population Council’s interest in the Youth Day
comes with the expectation that Jordan will reach the stage of demographic
opportunity after the third decade of this century, which is expected to
witness a decline in the proportion of children under 15 years of age and an
increase in the proportion of young people and adults of working age, which
will carry with it many returns on the Society and the family, represented by a decrease in the dependency
ratio, an increase in family saving opportunities, and thus investment in the
education and training of children and their health, an increase in the
participation of mothers in the labor market, and an improvement in family
income.
The future of any
people is in the hands of its youth, and therefore investment is being made in
preparing them to achieve the desired hope. Therefore, we referred at the
beginning of this briefing to the current and future size of the youth segment
and the need to protect and prepare it to advance itself, its family and its
society. It is not possible to prepare
this large number of young people for the future and provide them with
knowledge, skills and means of protection from risks without an education and
training system that responds to their life needs and the needs of the changing
labor market.
It is a matter of
concern that the percentage of unemployed youth is high in Jordan, and a very
high percentage of them have below secondary education and are thus suitable
for immediate involvement in jobs that do not require skills and training and
are widely available in the Jordanian labor market. Fortunately, we are
witnessing today a remarkable turnout from young people to work in several
sectors that were the preserve of expatriate workers. The concerns are not
limited to youth unemployment only, but this briefing pointed to a number of
dangers that undermine the expected role of youth in development and the
economic and social consequences of these dangers.