In a restaurant kitchen in Amman, Bassam Shquntana stands at a prep station, learning to transform simple ingredients into dishes that could one day fill his own dining room. The culinary student enrolled in an ILO training course because he's always loved cooking, and he sees Eastern cuisine as a pathway to something bigger—not just employment, but entrepreneurship. His dream isn't modest: after finishing the course, he wants to own his own restaurant.
Bassam is one of 464 young Jordanians and Syrian refugees who have discovered that dream through the PROSPECTS programme, a multi-agency partnership funded by the Netherlands that combines classroom learning with real workplace experience. In a region where youth unemployment hovers near 46 per cent, this hands-on approach is quietly reshaping how young people access decent work.
The PROSPECTS initiative, implemented through Luminus Technical University in Amman, moves trainees from the classroom into actual job sites within two months. The programme spans multiple sectors—engineering, hospitality, beauty, garment production—and deliberately balances the scales: half of all participants are women. This isn't generic skills-building. Each course is designed with one eye on what employers actually need, creating a bridge between what young people learn and what the job market demands.
Sara Al-Tamimi, another culinary trainee, is now in her second phase, working in a restaurant kitchen where theory meets pressure. "I'm learning new things in the restaurant," she said. "It teaches me how to work under pressure." That combination—building technical competence while gaining confidence in a professional environment—is precisely what sets PROSPECTS apart. Trainees don't just learn to cook or wire circuits; they learn what it feels like to belong in a workplace.
The stakes are significant. Jordan faces what Shatha Eisouh, ILO PROSPECTS Regional Skills and Employment Technical Officer, describes as a layered crisis. The country contends with slow economic growth, high youth unemployment, and rapid technological and demographic shifts that make the transition to decent work increasingly complex. "The future of work depends on continuous learning and skills development aligned with labour market needs," Eisouh explained, capturing why programmes like PROSPECTS matter so urgently.
What makes this initiative compelling is its refusal to treat young people as passive recipients of training. By placing them directly into kitchens, workshops, and offices, it asks employers and educators to meet halfway—employers adjust their expectations and invest in mentorship, while training providers ensure curriculum stays sharp and relevant. It's a recognition that jobs aren't waiting for perfectly prepared candidates; they're waiting for people who've actually done the work.
For Bassam and Sara, and for hundreds of others across Amman, this model is already proving real. Some will become employees at the restaurants and firms where they trained. Others, like Bassam, will use their certification as a foundation for something more ambitious. All of them are building something more durable than a certificate: the muscle memory of professional work, and proof that opportunity is real when training meets the actual world.