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.