Youth and Job Opportunities After University:
Zeid and Nabela's Stories

Zeid, 25, had always wanted to study business administration and then work at a bank, but his low high school academic average did not allow it. So instead he studied education at a university in Jordan for four years. Upon graduating, his father found him a job as a daily substitute teacher at the Ministry of Education."

Due to the nature of my work, I was asked to teach temporarily in different parts of the kingdom. It was very trying, going from one school to another for a short period of time every time. Above all, it was not permanent," says Zeid.

The young man coped with this situation for two months. He then quit and worked at a local airline for one year. This work was not in line with his qualifications, and so a year later he landed a teaching job with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)."

For the past three years I have been teaching classes with 50 or more students. It's hard, but in general I am 50% satisfied," he says. He is now aspiring to study a relatively pioneering field in Jordan: technology of education.

*      *      *

Nabela, 28, had a different experience. Her low tawjihi average did not allow her to enroll at university. She tried to find work, but remained unemployed for eight years."

I was depressed and tired. I kept thinking of the future and of what was going to happen to me. I had nothing to do, and was dependent on my family. They had seen me through high school, and to end up the way I was, for me, was a waste," Nabela explains."

I then started to take courses in hair- dressing at a vocational training center. I even trained at a beauty salon," she says.

She decided then that she must do something with her life, and so she took out a loan and set up her own hair salon."

I wanted to ensure my future, especially as I am an unmarried female. So, I took out a loan from a local institution which was targeting youth to take loans and start their own projects. I now feel productive. I have an identity, a place of my own, and a future," says the excited Nabela."

I have peace of mind. I no longer fear the future."

She works on her own, in order to pay back the loan through the money she earns. After she repays her loan, Nabela wants to expand her salon and employ people to work for her.