Between Classroom and Job Market: A Widening Gap Facing Jordanian Youth

October 9, 2025 3 min read

Member Rayan Al-Dabbas – Energy Sector, Third Cohort
Article Title: Between Classroom and Job Market: A Widening Gap Facing Jordanian Youth

A Jordanian student graduates expecting to find the opportunities they’ve long dreamed of. Yet the harsh reality appears quickly: the market has no room, even when the graduate believes their qualifications should launch a bright career. This confusion shadows today’s graduates day after day. Between what is taught at universities and what employers require lies a deep gap now affecting an entire generation of youth.
Why? And why is this gap widening?

The Education Gap: Theory Drifting Away from Reality

According to a report by the Jordan Strategy Forum, about 35% of jobs in Jordan’s market require technical or vocational skills, while fewer than 12% of Jordanian students pursue vocational or applied education. This imbalance makes it difficult to meet market needs, despite the thousands of graduates seeking work each year.

The problem is not just about majors, but also the very nature of higher education. Many curricula emphasize theory while overlooking practical skills, training, and real exposure to the workplace. A study by the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicates that over 60% of employers in Jordan find graduates lack essential job skills such as communication, teamwork, technology use, and rapid problem-solving.

Compounding this, the culture of the “traditional job”—especially in the public sector—still dominates many students’ aspirations. This narrows innovation and entrepreneurship and further deepens the gap.

How Do We Build the Bridge?

Addressing the gap requires a comprehensive approach engaging government, universities, the private sector, and civil society. Key steps include:

  • Regularly updating university curricula to match skills demanded locally and globally, with meaningful private-sector input in designing course content.
  • Embedding practical/experiential training as a core, credit-bearing component across majors, ensuring workplace readiness before graduation.
  • Expanding modern vocational and technical education and building cultural and social support for it, countering the stigma that it is “less prestigious.”
  • Strengthening early career guidance in schools and universities so students choose majors based on market needs, not only personal preference or social pressure.
  • Stimulating entrepreneurship by providing incubators and micro-finance for graduates—converting idle talent into productive ventures.

A Step Toward Change: Integrating BTEC into Jordanian Education

In its drive to align education with job-market requirements, the Ministry of Education has launched a partnership with Pearson to incorporate BTEC vocational programs in schools. The first year has seen tangible progress—an encouraging sign of serious intent to elevate applied skills and offer students internationally benchmarked qualifications.

Notably, students and families have shown clear interest in technology, engineering, and services-related tracks, reflecting growing awareness of the importance of practical skills for a promising career.

Though still in early stages, this initiative signals a qualitative shift in Jordan’s philosophy of public education and opens the door to more flexible, reality-based education policies. We hope these steps will narrow the school–work gap and create an environment that equips students to step confidently into the future.

Conclusion: A Gap That Must Be Closed

The disconnect between education and employment in Jordan is not a passing crisis; it’s the product of longstanding accumulated challenges and therefore demands deep, durable solutions. New initiatives—such as introducing BTEC in schools—are positive moves forward and show growing recognition of the value of skills-focused, applied learning.

Yet significant challenges remain, and such efforts alone are not enough to bridge the widening divide between what students learn and what the market truly needs. The future depends not on diplomas alone but on skills, adaptability, and a readiness to learn continuously. If Jordan seeks to develop its economy and fully harness the potential of its youth, it must keep aligning education policy with economic reality. Today’s student—whether in school or university—is the foundation of the economy. We must recognize that leaving the education–job gap unaddressed is a genuine obstacle to comprehensive development: every delay wastes human potential and forfeits economic opportunities.

Investing in education is not only about curricula or infrastructure; it is about building a system that enables students to acquire in-demand skills and equips them with tools to compete in a fast-changing, demanding labor market.