As of July 2022, Jordan hosts over 672,000 registered Syrian refugees, with children representing a little over half of the refugee community. Currently, Jordan is one of the top refugee hosting countries per capita worldwide.

The scope, scale and protracted nature of the displacement crisis prompted the Kingdom of the Netherlands to initiate the PROSPECTS partnership. The overarching aim of PROSPECTS is to provide refugees and Jordanian host communities with the skills, education and rights that can empower them to lead more self-reliant lives.

This unique partnership brings together five partners: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank in close cooperation with the Government of Jordan and local stakeholders. Together, the partners work to provide quality education and training, decent work and livelihood opportunities, and protection services for refugees and their host communities.


Image: ©Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Jordan
The Partnership focuses on four pillars of intervention.

Focusing on the following four main pillars: education, employment, protection and new ways of working, the partnership supports Jordan in improving the situation, self-reliance and resilience of refugees and host communities, while paying special attention to women, young people, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support and supporting local civil society organisations to build their capacity.

Education & training

Quality education reduces inequalities and enables young people to realise their full potential and take control of their future. That is why a key pillar of the PROSPECTS Partnership is education. Along with our partners we support projects that focus on strengthening the whole educational system, from training teachers to providing tools for basic education, life skills and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to both refugees and vulnerable Jordanians. 

We ensure that the education that youth receive is aligned and closely connected to the technical, vocational and personal skills that the labour market demands. This focus on education will ease young people's transition from school to the job market and allow them to be self-dependent and contributing members of their communities.

Highlights / achievements (as of July 2022):

• 1,941 children and young people enrolled in education programmes.
• 82,073 teachers and principals trained on National Leadership and National Teacher Professional Standards which enables them to deliver better education to their students. 
• 70,744 people enrolled in formal or non-formal post-secondary skills trainings, including Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and TVET.
• 35,246 people completed technical and vocational training.

Employment & Livelihoods

PROSPECTS strives to increase the number of refugees and vulnerable Jordanian youth to access decent and dignified employment opportunities. PROSPECTS supports the growth of the private sector in Jordan, through increasing access to finance, improving work conditions as well as supporting entrepreneurship and business start-ups for Jordanians and refugees. PROSPECTS works closely with the Government of Jordan to help young people transition from school to work and enhancing safe and secure working environments. 

Highlights / achievements (as of July 2022):

• 13,553 paid jobs or employment opportunities supported to benefit refugees and their host communities.
• 5,848 refugees were issued work permits and/or business registrations as a result of PROSPECTS interventions
• 197 people were supported to start a business and sustained it six months after they started. 
• 45 cooperatives were supported and/or scaled to serve host community members and refugees .
• 18,331 job seekers are using online and in-person employment services.
• 2,728 people were made aware on rights at work and safe working environment.

Protection

Social protection can alleviate poverty, inequality and foster social cohesion. PROSPECTS partners work with the Government of Jordan to enhance and develop its social protection programmes and expand social security coverage among refugee and vulnerable Jordanian populations. The partnership also supports the continuation of access to registration and legal documentation for refugees, allowing them to access their legal rights in Jordan. In addition, partners work towards strengthening the national child protection systems in Jordan to protect children from all kinds of violence and vulnerabilities.

Highlights / achievements (as of July 2022):

• 166,259 refugees benefitted from national legal assistance.
• 73,088 people benefitted from case management service (gender-based violence, child labour etc.)
• 6,929 host and refugees benefitted from cash assistance services.

New way of working

PROSPECTS is a unique partnership which promotes cooperation between PROSPECTS partners, the private sector, the Jordanian government and civil-society to better prepare and respond to forced displacement crises. By creating strong links between these relevant actors, the partnership aims to improve the overall coordination and efficiency amongst them in order to respond to the needs of refugees and Jordanian host communities. 

Highlights / achievements (as of July 2022):

• UNICEF and ILO are supporting government institutions in ensuring the quality of child protection services, including the prevention of and response to children engaged in all forms of child labour.
• The World Bank and ILO are supporting the government in the implementation of a 2021 by-law to the labour law, which covers the working conditions of agriculture workers (Regulation No.19). This helps to address decent working conditions in the sector. Similarly, the World Bank and UNHCR are working to improve legal procedures for the issuance of flexible work permits for Syrians.
• UNICEF and ILO joined forces to support the launch of Job Search Clubs, reaching 400 refugee and host community youth with mentorship, peer-to-peer support and guidance in the job search process. This project is implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Youth. 
• IFC is developing the Start Mashreq entrepreneurship platform, along with Flat6Labs, to provide incubation and education support to early-stage startups. IFC is exploring with UNHCR ways to leverage their support during outreach and program delivery.