How To Support A Labor Market Program In Jordan

Transcription

1 Project Name Region Country Sector(s) Lending Instrument Project ID Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Environmental Category PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: SUPPORT TO BUILDING ACTIVE LABOR MARKET PROGRAM MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Human Development Investment Project Financing P Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) Ministry of Labor (MOL) C Date PID Prepared April 15th, 2013 and updated November 22, 2013 Estimated Date of Appraisal Completion Estimated Date of Board Approval Concept Review Decision Other Decision (as needed) I. Introduction and Context April 12 th, 2013 N/A (to be submitted to Transition Fund Steering Committee April 19 th, 2013) The economy of Jordan was knocked off-course by the global crisis and a series of regional events and has since been struggling to regain its footing. Following almost a decade of strong macroeconomic performance, the political upheaval that swept the Arab region has had a significant impact on Jordan, taking the form of economic shocks (dramatically less foreign direct investment, remittances and tourist revenues since 2011) combined with interruptions in the gas supply from Egypt, and coinciding with higher international grain and energy prices. Energy imports increased from 9 percent of GDP in 2003 to 19 percent of GDP in In addition, the fallout from the Syrian conflict next door, and persisting social challenges including unemployment at 13 percent and poverty at 14.4 percent is further undermining the economy. At this time of weakening economy and growing social unrest, the Government s top priority is to create jobs, though it is a daunting challenge. At the macro level, the Jordanian economy is not generating enough jobs to absorb the more than 60,000 young citizens who enter the labor market annually. Major constraints arise from the structure of economic activity, insufficient job creation by the private sector, increasing presence of foreign workers, the lack of flexible labor markets, the large presence of the public sector with market-distorting effects on

2 wages and youth expectations, and the burden of inefficient employment-related social safety net contributions borne by small and medium enterprises. Employment creation will require a comprehensive approach which tackles supply issues (education, vocational training, migration, etc.), demand issues (macro policy, structure of the economy, sector mix and size of enterprises, etc.), and institutional issues (policy development and coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and social dialogue) to be developed over the short, medium, and long term. As a result, Jordan s ranking in terms of Doing Business and competitiveness in the region and the world has decreased. The recently launched National Employment Strategy (NES) for lays the foundation to rectifying unemployment anomalies and enhancing employability. The main objective of the NES is to provide a long-term strategic vision for employment and job creation, a strategy that is focused, credible, and sustainable to provide measurable results. Guided by NES priorities, a national program Jordan Jobs Compact (JJC) has been developed that aims to revive the social contract between the state, private sector and citizens. It will develop a multilevel approach to assist graduates in finding jobs in a coordinated and strategic manner including assisting job seekers with career guidance and job search, readiness and placement opportunities. II. Proposed Development Objective(s) The overall objective is to pilot selected labor market interventions, to learn about their effectiveness towards building a coherent active labor market system and to improve job readiness and job placement opportunities for unemployed men and women graduates. During negotiations (November 11, 2013) it was agreed that the project development objective is to increase access to career guidance, job search, and on the job training among targeted youth. Key Results Progress toward the PDO will be monitored through the following key indicators (a) Direct project beneficiaries, in total number; percentage of which are female beneficiaries (Core Indicator); (b) Beneficiaries of Career Guidance and Counseling; percentage of which are female beneficiaries; (c) Beneficiaries of the updated and expanded Electronic Labor Exchange, percentage of which are female beneficiaries; (d) Beneficiaries of Job Readiness and Placement Program (JRP), percentage of which are female beneficiaries. III. Preliminary Description 2. The proposed project responds to the Government s request for World Bank support in supporting implementation key aspects of the Jordan Jobs Compact initiative (JJC) which is a multi-pillar active labor market program (ALMP) of the National Employment Strategy

3 Action Plan. More specifically, the proposed project will provide a learning platform to test a number of initiatives recommended by the National Employment Strategy for This will be achieved via supporting three of the five pillars of the JJC, i.e, (i) school to work transition; (ii) job search and matching; and (iii) job readiness and placement. The MOL will be responsible for the overall coordination and management of the project under the strategic and policy guidance of the E-TVET Council and in close coordination with KAFD. Component 1: School to Work Program (STW) (US$730,000): This component will provide school to work transition support for two groups between ages 19-25: (i) students during their final year university through counseling centers; and (ii) unemployed youth through the Ministry of Labor (MOL) employment offices. MOL has developed three sets of manuals for career counseling and vocational planning for: community college graduates, university graduates, and youth unemployed. Moreover, KAFD is currently reviewing the counseling services of the 25 universities to assess their strengths and weaknesses and plans to improve career counseling manuals for university students. The project will support the implementation of these manuals for these two target groups in four universities and six employment offices in selected governorates 1 by: i) hiring of the technical experts who will assist in overall design, planning and quality assurance, provide training to counselors, and oversee the delivery and coverage of career services in selected universities and the employment offices; and ii) providing needed refurbishment of university and employment offices including equipment and software. It is estimated that during the project period approximately 10,000 youth (19-25 years of age) could benefit from the counseling in the selected universities and employment offices in the governorates. The POM will provide details on the implementation of this component, including the selection criteria of universities and employment offices. Component 2: Market Information and Job Search Program (MIJS) (US$685,000): This component will facilitate job matching through improving information available to both employers and prospective job seekers. Currently, several initiatives are being developed by several players and financed by various sources (MOL, ILO, IYF, Microsoft, EU, UNDP, NCHRD, E-TVET Fund). To ensure synergy and complementarity, KAFD is currently in charge of the coordination of the various initiatives. The project will support MOL to update and expand the Electronic Labor Exchange (ELE) by providing technical assistance for: i) capacity building of MOL staff for improving data collection and analysis for effective intermediation services; ii) building capacity for employment offices staff on facilitating job matching (including the use of the updated and expanded ELE); iii) developing interactive online career guidance, mentoring, vocational planning system; iv) a communication campaign to increase the awareness about the ELE for both jobseekers and employers; and, v) providing related IT hardware and software 1 It is planned that the Component A will be implemented in three Governorates. Thus the number of universities and EOs where the Manuals will be implemented may vary accordingly.

4 for the employment offices. The POM will provide details on the implementation of this component. Component 3: Job Readiness and Placement Program (JRPP) (US$2,867,970): This component will support graduates from universities and from community colleges in selected governorates (between ages 19-25) who have been unemployed for at least one year and following the eligibility criteria defined in the POM. It will provide the unemployed graduates a package of 75 hours employability training and partial salary voucher/social security registration for one year. The salary vouchers and training compensation will be financed by the project and the training providers, and social security contribution will be financed by the E-TVET Fund. This scheme will encourage private employers and job seekers to engage in on-the-job training to facilitate job placement. This pilot will target 1,200 unemployed graduate youth in the selected governorates based on the selection criteria as below. The POM will provide details on the design and implementation of this component. Component 4: Project Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Management (US$467,030): This component will support (i) Monitoring and evaluation: The PMU will collect data on day to day project activities through agencies which are responsible for the different components (MOL, KAFD, E-TVET Fund), and responsible for conducting beneficiary assessment for career guidance programs and impact evaluation of the voucher program; (ii) Project Management: This subcomponent will support day to day operational activities of the project in conformity with the Financing Agreement, project document and the Project Operation Manual (POM). IV. Safeguard Policies that Might Apply Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No TBD Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 Forests OP/BP 4.36 Pest Management OP 4.09 Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60

5 V. Tentative financing Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 1.20 International Development Association (IDA) 0 Other (MNA Transition Fund) 4.75 Total 5.95 VI. Contact point World Bank Contact: Setareh Razmara Title: Lead Social Protection specialist Tel: SRazmara@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Name: Contact: Title: Tel: Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Saif Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Implementing Agencies Name: Contact: Title: Tel: Ministry of Labor H.E. Nidal Katamine Minister of Labor VII. For more information contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C Telephone: (202) Fax: (202) Web: