“I aim to stay and grow in my current workplace, the place where I developed a new version of myself”

Like many young Jordanians, 27-year-old Nermeen Khalil Hasan Ballan had a hard time finding work, despite her diploma in architectural engineering. The job market was fierce, with many employers requiring years of work experience she didn’t have.

Her father’s retirement added to financial pressures. “I wanted to find a job to support my parents with daily expenses,” she says.

While job-hunting, she came across the ‘Economic Empowerment Programme for Women in Jordan’, which is run by UN Women and Education for Employment (EFE) Jordan with the support of the European Union through the Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis, the Madad Fund.

“Joining this programme opened many doors for me. It equipped me with essential skills to succeed in the workplace, where I was able to improve my time management, communication and data entry skills. I am now able to set clear goals and achieve them, which make me competent in and outside of work.”

The trainings also taught her how to excel at job interviews. She says her newfound confidence made her less nervous, which allowed her to better present her experience and qualifications.

After the successful job placement conducted through EFE-Jordan, she is now the Executive Secretary at Orient Plastic Company, a position she credits in large part thanks to the training she got under the programme.

“I still vividly remember my first day at work, being thrilled and happy,” she says. “Thanks to my manager, who coaches me on a daily basis, I continue to gain new skills and grow as a professional.”

EFE-Jordan’s job placement programme includes an intensive training course on soft skills to succeed in the workplace – focusing on communication, time management, teamwork, negotiation, presentation skills, etc. – combined with a two-day training on gender-based violence and a three-day training on women’s civic engagement. In 2021, EFE-Jordan supported 310 women with job-placement to increase their opportunities to enter into the labor market.