A determined vocational education graduate leads his way to success

Amro Matahen, a 22-year-old Jordanian vocational education graduate shared his professional journey with UNESCO, which started in March 2019, when he came across a Facebook advertisement on Luminus Technical University College (LTUC) Facebook page, promoting new TVET training programmes and encouraging youth from all educational backgrounds to apply. Amro’s application to study electrical and electronic engineering was successful and when accepted he felt ‘as if the doors to my future just opened up for me”.

The electrical engineering course was offered within the framework of the “Provision of TVET, On-The-Job-Training and Entrepreneurship Education to Youth Affected by the Syria Crisis in Jordan” project, through a strong partnership between the Government of the Republic of Korea and UNESCO ...

In July 2020, Amro graduated from LTUC and received his BTEC level II [1] Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. 

Apart from relevant technical and theoretical subjects, which are very much in demand in the job market in Jordan, Amro also benefitted from training on CV writing and how to apply for jobs. These soft skills are as important and give confidence to the students invited for a job interview. 

In February 2020, Amro conducted a one-month on-the-job-training (OJT) as part of the programme at a smartphone shop called “Future Dream Mobile”, where he got hands-on training in cellphone maintenance and repair, sales, project management, and staff management. Already at this point, he realized that “only a minority of workers in this field truly master mobile maintenance and those who do will earn a better salary than those who only work in sales.’

The shop owner recognized Amro’s potential, stating that “since day one, I have seen a strong level of persistence and love for what he does. That’s why I decided to offer him a job, after completion of his OJT, first as a salesperson and then I promoted him to a Senior Repair Agent”.  Amro took this job offer and nearly a year later beginning of 2022, he still works for Future Dream Mobile.

In fact, he is now a branch manager, running an entire “Future Dream Mobile” shop. This new responsibility has really boosted his morale and self-confidence and provides him also with a steady income. He is glad that he found a job despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the full lockdown of the country in March 2020, which Amro used to start his own YouTube channel, where he would post videos and tutorials on smartphone design and repair.

Amro has come a long way and looking back, he would definitely study at LTUC again, as well as recommend the programme to others who are looking for technical and vocational training that prepares them for the labor market.

This UNESCO project supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea is still on-going, benefitting 166 students as (74 Syrians, 92 Jordanians (92 females, 74 males) in 2022. It is fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 4 “Ensuring inclusive and quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning".