Employment through Labour Intensive Infrastructure in Jordan (Phases 1 & 2)

The project aims to improve the living conditions of Syrian refugees and Jordanians through increased employment and improved infrastructure.


Summary

According to the latest census, the total number of Syrians residing in Jordan is around 1.3 million, 637,000 of whom are refugees registered with UNHCR. The registered Syrian refugee population in Jordan is equivalent to about 10 per cent of the total population. A 2015 ILO labour market study showed that 50 per cent of Jordanians and 99 per cent of Syrians are working in the informal economy. This means that these jobs are completely outside the scope of any form of governance. This has a negative impact on the quality of jobs provided such as sub-standard wages, poor working conditions and exploitative practices, including child labour. This is of particular concern in the northern governorates of Irbid and Mafraq, and in Amman where the share of Syrian refugees is greatest. This project aims to support the Government of Jordan in creating immediate jobs through Employment Intensive Investment Programmes (EIIP) in Irbid and Mafraq, for both Syrian women and men refugees and their host communities, while also improving local infrastructures. It is part of the ILO’s wider response to ease some of the labour market pressures caused by the influx of Syrian refugees -- through facilitating access to employment and livelihood opportunities.

Objectives:

  • Improve rural infrastructure through the use of labour intensive methods; and
  • Improve employability and access to the labour market for Syrian refugees and their Jordanian host communities.

Main Activities:

Improve rural infrastructure through the use of labour intensive methods for men and women.
  • Improving tertiary roads, through drains construction for existing roads using labour – based technologies;
  • Expanding agricultural infrastructure of local farmers, by building water catchments to collect rain water and soil protection arrangements through terracing and planting;
  • Building additional classrooms at high-density student schools and rehabilitating existing old schools using labour-based methods;
  • Enhancing the capacity of the private sector at national and local level to implement employment intensive approaches for men and for women, through designing and rolling out a training package for engineers on employment intensive methods; training and on the job coaching of private sector companies; and preparing a four-months national curricula for engineers on gender-sensitive employment intensive approaches; and
  • Increasing the maintenance of public, environmental and agricultural infrastructure and reviewing national contracting procedures to maximize employment outcome for women and for men in infrastructural work.
Syrian refugees and Jordanians have improved employability and access to the labour market.
  • Improving the coherent implementation of the regulatory framework for work permits, by conducting awareness-raising campaigns on work permits to disseminate clear instructions to relevant stakeholders; and conducting a gender-sensitive capacity building to the Ministry of Labour at governorate level on the new regulations concerning work permits for adequate enforcement; and
  • Enhancing skills of both men and women refugees and Jordanians to facilitate their exist of the programme towards more suitable jobs.

Outcomes:

  • 350,000 working days in EIIP; and
  • Creation, rehabilitation and maintenance of assets (roads, schools and farmers’ land) for the sustainable benefit of the community.