Amman - Abdelraheem Halawah, a
19-years-old Jordanian, has a lot to teach us about persistence. In spite his
setback in the “Tawjihi” secondary examinations, Abdelraheem never stopped
pursing his educational journey. Having passion
towards culinary arts, Abdelraheem believes that TVET is the right path for
him.
“I started looking for scholarships over the internet until I came across
opportunities advertised by Enabel’s national partner –
Education for Employment (EFE)” Abdelraheem said, and added; “I applied through
a Facebook link with hopes I would get accepted”.
This scholarship was offered as part of the Qudra 2 programme – Resilience for
refugees, IDPs, returnees and host communities in response to the
protracted Syrian and Iraqi crises, co-funded from the European Union
Regional Trust Fund "Madad", the German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Spanish Agency for International
Development Cooperation, implemented by Enabel under its on-going project “Skills
Development for Employment of Syrian Refugees and Vulnerable Jordanian Youth”
in cooperation with EFE.
“When I learned that I had been accepted into the programme in September 2021,
I was overwhelmed with happiness. It was at that moment I realised that I
had a chance to prove and improve myself with my cooking powers. I knew things
were going to change for me”, shared Abdelraheem.
Wanting to
grow in the cooking industry to become a prestigious pastry chef to make his
dream come true and further support his family to make ends meet, Abdelraheem
was eager to pass his theoretical and practical courses in the sweets making
discipline. As he left a positive imprint during his semi-skilled courses and
Work-based Learning phase, he was offered back in January 2022 a full-time job as pastry
dessert assistant at one of Jordan’s 5-star hotels - where he was completing his
practical training aka - Work-based Learning.
“I saw potential in Abdelraheem and offered him a full-time job at our hotel’s
sweets kitchen. Today, he’s an official employee with the possibility to grow
and thrive in the sector. Le Royal Hotels and Resorts provides Work-based
Learning opportunities to youth and fresh graduates because we believe that
youth must up-scale their competencies and experiences through real working
environment to further acquire the skills they need for today’s labour market”.
- Faris
Ghouka, HR Manager at Le Royal Hotels & Resorts
In early
2019, Abdelraheem would always tag along with his father to support him run his
business as wedding videographer and photographer. “The way I see it,
work is an important factor to productivity and becoming an active member of
society. Whenever I had free time, I would accompany my father by being his
second hand in parties and weddings, I learned a lot from him and there’s a lot
to learn from him in the future”, said Abdelraheem.
Enabel supports youth to receive quality training programmes as a way
of finding employment. This project is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular, the Sustainable Development Goal 4,
which directly aims to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and
promoting lifelong learning.
“The objective of the intervention is to enhance employment outcomes, in
particular for Syrian and vulnerable Jordanian youth and women. Today, in
collaboration with the VET sector stakeholders, Enabel has developed the Jordan
Work-based Learning Model aiming to further refine the trainees’ skills, and
make the most of their involvement in their vocational training programmes
through engaging them in real-work environments in
collaboration with the private sector enterprises”.
- Zaid Al – Qaisi, Enabel Acting Project Manager
Reflecting on what it means not to pass the his secondary examinations,
Abdelraheem has a message for those searching for direction: “be persistent toward what you think about every single day. The way I see it, dreams are
doable, through manifestation and daydreaming, which will help you get there soundly”, said
Abdelraheem, “after this scholarship, I am a step closer to where I
want to be and this is just the start, however, without Qudra 2 – Enabel
scholarship, I have no idea how things might have turned out. Fingers crossed the best yet to come", he concluded.
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