73334 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Contents Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix iii Executive Summary (Arabic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x 1.  Young Jordanians Face High Rates of Unemployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Labor Market for Community College Graduates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2. Jordan Now: A Pilot Designed to Understand the Effectiveness of Employability-Skills Training and Job Vouchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Pilot Design: Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 0 Selection Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Implementation of the Training and Voucher Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3.  A Profile of Jordan NOW Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 Main Courses of Study and Most Likely Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 Plans for Work and for Job-Seeking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 Empowerment and Traditional Attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 4.  Job Vouchers Boost Employment in the Short-Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 Who Used the Vouchers? Who Completed Training? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 Labor Market Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 5. What Happened After the Program Ended? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7 6. What Have We Learnt? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 Are Temporary Impacts Due to the Job Voucher Groups Losing Jobs or the Other Groups Gaining Them? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 Did the Interventions Just Change Who Got the Jobs or Actually Create New Jobs? . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 Are Labor Laws Partly Responsible for the Temporary Nature of the Job? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 6 7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 iii iv Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Annex I. Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Annex II. Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Annex III.  Principles for a Proposed Scale-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Tables Table 1. Labor Market Conditions by Age and Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Table 2. Economic Activity by Gender and Education for Youth between the Ages of 19 and 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Table 3. Courses of Study, by Gender, Ages 19–29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Table 4. Concurrent Sessions per Governorate and Completion Rates per Session . . . . . . . . . 3 1 Table 5. Training Completion Conditional on Attending at Least One Session . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 Table 6. Participating Community Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 Table 7. Comparison of Means of Baseline Characteristics by Treatment Group . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 Table 8. Most Common Courses of Study for Pilot Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 Table 9. Planned Job Search Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 Table 10. Reasons for not Participating in Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Table 11. Voucher Use – October 2010 to August 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 Table 12. Midline Labor Market Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 Table 13. Employment Rates during Voucher Validity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5 Table 14. Employment Transitions (Percentage Transitioning from One State to Another between Survey Rounds) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 Table 15. Employment Rates of 20–25 Year Old Female Community College Graduates . . . . 3 6 Table 16. Take-Up Regressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 Table 17. Impacts on Different Dimensions of Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 Table 18. Heterogeneity of Employment Impact by Randomization Stratification Variables 4 4 Table 19. Impacts on Different Dimensions of Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 Table 20. Heterogeneity of Employment Impact by Randomization Stratification Variables 4 5 Table 21. Impacts on Wellbeing, Empowerment, Attitudes, and Marriage at Endline . . . . . . . . 4 6 Figures Figure 1. Labor Force Participation and Work Experience among Jordan Now Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x Figure 2. Proportion of Female Graduates Employed in April 2011 (While the Job Vouchers are Active) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Figure 3. Proportion of Female Graduates Employed in December 2011 (Three Months after all Vouchers Ended) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Figure 4. Unemployment by Age and Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Figure 5. Male Labor Force Participation Rates by Level of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Figure 6. Female Labor Force Participation Rates by Level of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Figure 7. Male Unemployment by Level of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Figure 8. Female Unemployment by Level of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Figure 9. The Proportion of the Population Who Was Ever Employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Figure 10. The Proportion of the Female Population over 30 Ever Employed by Age of First Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 v Figure 11. The Labor Force Participation Rate for Women between Ages 30 and 45 by Age of First Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Figure 12. Female Labor Force Participation in MENA by Marital Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Figure 13. Female Labor Force Participation of Immigrants from MENA to the United States by Marital Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Figure 14. Unemployment Rates by Region for Educated Males . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Figure 15. Unemployment Rates by Region for Educated Females . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Figure 16. Labor Force Participation by Region for Educated Males . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Figure 17. Labor Force Participation by Region for Educated Females . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Figure 18. Map of Jordan – Participating Community Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Figure 19. Plans after Graduation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Figure 20. Preferred Sector of Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Figure 21. Attitudes of Female Students towards the Role of Women in Society . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Figure 22. Restrictions on Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Figure 23. Treatment Take-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Figure 24. Training Components – Percent of Participants who Rated Good or Excellent . . . . 22 Figure 25. Significant Characteristics of Training Take-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Figure 26. Significant Characteristics of Voucher Take-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Figure 27. Labor Force Participation at Midline and Endline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Figure 28. Employment Rates at Midline and Endline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Figure 29. Unemployment Rates at Midline and Endline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Figure 30. Proportion Employed by Month in Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Figure 31. Proportion Employed by Month in Central Jordan (in and around Amman) . . . . . . 32 Figure 32. Proportion Employed by Month in Northern and Southern Jordan (outside Amman) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Figure 33. Reasons why Voucher Graduates Were No Longer Employed after the Voucher Expired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Figure 34. 62 Percent of Firms Would Not Have Hired the Graduate in the Absence of the Voucher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Figure 35.  Midline – Distribution of Wages ( JD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Figure 36. Endline – Distribution of Wages ( JD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Figure 37. Monthly Wages for Men between the Ages 19–29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Figure 38. Monthly Wages for Women between the Ages 19–29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Figure 39. Cumulative Graph of Monthly Wages for Men and Women between the Ages 19–29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Acknowledgements T he Jordan New work Opportunities for commerce and industry who provided a platform to Women (NOW) pilot, under the patronage inform and mobilize firms to take a chance on young of H.E. Queen Rania Al Abdullah, was de- women. signed and implemented by a core team led by Tara Vishwanath (Task Team Leader and Lead Economist, An indispensable role was played by two excellent MNSPR) and comprising Matthew Groh, Ghada Jordanian organizations: Dajani Consulting and the Salameh Haddad, Abdalwahab Khatib, Nandini Business Development Center. Dajani Consulting Krishnan, and David McKenzie. Nithin Umapathi implemented survey data collection, maintained a was instrumental in the design and early implemen- regular Management Information System to sup- tation stages of the pilot: a special thanks to him. port the implementation of the voucher component, painstakingly monitored and verified all voucher The main counterpart from the government of Jor- related transactions and conducted independent dan was the Ministry of Planning and International random audits. The Business Development Center Cooperation. We gratefully acknowledge the support specially designed an employability skills training and critical role of the Ministry’s Gender Unit led by package, held multiple sessions at country-wide cen- Majd Hammad. We thank Mr. Mukhallad Omari for ters to enhance access to participants, and the high his guidance and feedback at various stages of imple- satisfaction levels reported by the trainees is a testa- mentation. Jordan NOW’s Steering Committee and ment to their quality and commitment. Throughout the Advisory Group have been partners and stake- the process, both our Jordanian partners were very holders in this entire process. We are also grateful to open to our suggestions for correcting course, pro- the Social Security Corporation and the Department vided invaluable feedback, and took great pride in of Statistics for their cooperation during the analysis the pilot. stage. The pilot would not have been a reality without fund- The pilot would never have taken off without the ing from the World Bank’s Gender Action Plan. The enthusiasm and critical support of Dr Ghandi An- team thanks the Adolescent Girls Initiative for includ- fouqa, then President of the Al-Balqa Applied Uni- ing Jordan, the only middle-income country, and rec- versity, the umbrella organization for the community ognizing that young women everywhere can face tre- colleges participating in the pilot. We also extend mendous challenges in the transition from school to our gratitude to all the deans of the community col- work. Data collection and the analyses in this report leges and their offices, who worked painstakingly to were also supported by the Trust Fund for Environ- contact and convince the young women in our pilot mentally and Socially Sustainable Development and to participate. A big thanks also to the chambers of the Poverty and Social Impact Analysis Trust Fund. vii viii Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? The report has benefitted from comments and MNSPR) for their support. The team also thanks feedback from seminar audiences at the University Dana Smillie for the photographs on the cover of of Virginia, the World Bank’s Development Eco- this report. A special acknowledgement goes out nomics Research Group, and the Inter American to Ritva Reinikka (Sector Director, AFTHD), who Development Bank. We also thank peer reviewers, embraced the need for learning through pilots Markus Goldstein (Senior Economist, AFTPM), early, and supported the team throughout. Last Omar Razzaz (Adviser, MNCA2) and Emanuela but by no means the least, we thank Hedi Larbi Galasso (Senior Economist, DECPI) for their in- (Country Director, MNC02), for leading from the valuable feedback and suggestions. front and taking great pride in a small pilot. His unflagging enthusiasm and support for analytical The team thanks Bernard Funck (Sector Manager, rigor and debate around difficult issues is greatly MNSED) and Manuela Ferro (Sector Director, appreciated. Executive Summary J ordan faces extremely high levels of youth un- es, a Steering Committee comprising representatives employment: 19% of male and 48% of female from the Jordanian National Council for Women, the youth between the ages of 19 to 24 years old Ministries of Higher Education, Planning and Inter- want to work but can’t find jobs. For men, the tran- national Cooperation, Labor, and the Department of sition from school to work is slow (on average 15 Statistics, and a Gender Advisory Group comprising months), but for women the school to work transi- of civil society representatives and the private sector. tion often never takes place. If women can’t smooth- The primary counterpart on the government side was ly transition from school to work, then they are Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. likely to simply give up searching, which is reflected These discussions framed the objective and the de- in the low and declining levels of female labor force sign for Jordan New work Opportunities for Women participation over women’s life cycles. (Jordan NOW) pilot launched under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah. In this context of high female unemployment and low female labor force participation, the Jordanian The objective of the Jordan NOW pilot was to in- government, after discussions between the World crease female labor force participation and help Bank President Mr. Robert Zoellick and H.E. for- women gain real world job experience. In particular, mer Prime Minister of Jordan, Nader Al Dahabi, the hope was to improve information between firms and H.E. former Minister of Planning, Ms. Souhair and potential workers, create an opportunity to Al-Ali, requested the World Bank’s support to de- change negative stereotypes from firms and young velop an employment pilot targeting female com- women about women’s role in the labor market, and munity college graduates in 2009. This pilot is part improve soft skills and communication. Therefore, of a broader technical assistance program supporting the pilot comprised of two interventions—employ- the reform of the public community college system ability skills training and job vouchers—targeting in Jordan. Educated women make up the majority of the 2010 cohort of female graduates of public com- the unemployed women in Jordan, and employment munity colleges. The employability skills training prospects are particularly constrained for female was conducted by the Business Development Cen- community college graduates because they compete ter (BDC), a leader in training services in Jordan, in similar sectors with female university graduates. and consisted of 17 45-hour interactive courses on effective communication, business writing skills, Intensive consultations were held with a broad-based time management, positive thinking, customer ser- set of stakeholders including young students, private vice, interviewing skills, and other non-cognitive sector firms, chambers of commerce and industry, Al skills. The job vouchers, which were a short-term Balqa Applied University, deans of community colleg- incentive for firms to take a chance on hiring young ix x Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? women, were assigned to the beneficiaries and valid participants in each survey. We merged administra- for a maximum employment duration of 6 months tive data from the training program, monthly MIS over an 11 month period from October 2010 to voucher tracking and verification data, and the data August 2011. The vouchers were administered by from the Social Security Corporation of Jordan to Dajani Consulting, through a Management Infor- our survey data. Finally, we conducted a survey of mation System that tracked, updated and provided nearly all firms who employed Jordan NOW partici- monthly progress reports on voucher recipients and pants in April 2010 to analyze what happened from the firms that hired voucher holders. As voucher the firm’s perspective. administrators, they were responsible for manag- ing the fund for payments to firms under the job Overall, the objectives of the Jordan NOW pi- voucher component supervision of this fund and lot were to increase labor force participation and reimbursement of voucher funds to employers upon to give young female graduates a chance to accrue stringent verification of eligibility criteria and em- some work experience (Figure 1). These objectives ployment contracts. A team of 4 to 5 World Bank were fully met by the job voucher intervention: staff continuously monitored and supervised prog- 16 months after graduation, girls assigned to the ress and implementation. voucher group had rates of labor force participa- tion that were 10 percentage points higher relative In order to rigorously evaluate the impact of the two to their peers in other groups. Moreover, they had employment interventions, we integrated the Jordan accrued job market experience and were 27% more NOW pilot with a randomized evaluation, the gold likely to have ever worked. On average, they gained standard of evaluations. In 2010, we assigned female 2.5 months of additional work experience. These ef- graduates from 8 out of the 14 public Al Balqa com- fects were much stronger in governorates outside of munity colleges throughout Jordan to receive either Central Jordan. So, the job voucher was successful the job voucher, opportunity to participate in train- in speeding up the school-to-work transition and ing, both the job voucher and the training, or nothing helping more girls get jobs quickly. through a lottery design. Of the 1350 participants in our program, 300 were assigned to the voucher only, While the job voucher was active, female graduates 300 were assigned to training, 300 assigned to both with job vouchers were 39 percent more likely to the voucher and the training, and 450 were assigned work than female graduates without job vouchers. to a control group that received no benefits. In ad- However, this employment generation was tempo- dition to ensuring fairness, another objective of the rary in nature (see Figure 2 and Figure 3). After the lottery design was to guarantee that each group was vouchers expired, the overall employment rate of fe- comprised of participants with similar characteristics, which is important in evaluating the effects of the pi- lot interventions at a later stage. Any observed differ- Figure 1. Labor Force Participation and ences between the groups in the future can be clearly Work Experience among Jordan attributed to the interventions rather than any pre- Now Participants existing differences in characteristics between groups. 80 Our rigorous evaluation design was followed up 60 with meticulous data collection by Dajani Consult- ing. We conducted a baseline survey one month 40 prior to graduation, a midline survey 8 months af- 20 ter graduation while the vouchers were still active, and an endline survey 16 months after graduation 0 Ever employed (%) Labor Force Participation (%) when all the interventions had been completed. We Control Training Voucher successfully followed up with more than 93% of EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xi male graduates with vouchers returned to what the The hard cash of the wage subsidy induced firms rate would have been had this group never received to take a chance on hiring workers they wouldn’t vouchers. Outside Central Jordan, girls with vouch- have otherwise hired. Absent the job voucher, many ers continued to have higher employment rates, but of these firms did not consider the productivity of this may have come at the expense of those who these employees to be worth the 150 JD. Indeed, didn’t carry vouchers. many firms offered their employees lower wages, which many girls with expired vouchers would not Employability skills training had no statistically sig- accept. It might be the case that these firms were nificant impacts on employment outcomes, either constrained on the demand side: they could not af- in the short term, 6 months after all training had ford to hire an additional employee at any wage. been completed, or in the more medium term, 14 months after training and 4 months after the pilot The results point to a lack of job creation that con- concluded. Neither did it have a detectable impact strains the demand for labor of these young workers. on labor force participation or work experience. Boosting private sector led job creation in Jordan will However, training boosted self-confidence and require a comprehensive approach to employment mental well-being among the graduates. creation which tackles supply side as well as demand side issues. The new Jordanian National Employment Strategy (NES) for instance, calls for reforms to the legal and regulatory environment to stimulate invest- Figure 2. Proportion of Female Graduates ments in high value added sectors, improve competi- Employed in April 2011 (While tiveness and improve the business environment in the Job Vouchers are Active) Jordan, easing entry and exit especially for small and medium enterprises, revamping the vocational train- 0.6 ing programs to better match the needs of the labor 0.5 market and measures to expand female participation 0.4 in the workforce by providing flexible work options 0.3 and a suitable working environment. 0.2 0.1 The aspect of the labor market that this pilot does 0.0 not explicitly address is the demand for labor and job Voucher Training Both Control creation through the private sector. But the analysis does indirectly suggest that there were a lot of people chasing a few jobs in the sectors—education, health, and administration—where young female commu- Figure 3. Proportion of Female Graduates nity college graduates are typically employed. It re- Employed in December 2011 mains an open question whether the gendered fields (Three Months after all Vouchers of study restrict the occupational choices of these Ended) young women into already over-supplied, slow grow- ing sectors with little scope for job creation. Or, it 0.6 may be the case that the economy as a whole is not 0.5 diversified enough to create employment opportuni- 0.4 ties to pull women into other economic sectors. And 0.3 each of these factors may in turn reinforce the other, 0.2 with women’s lack of appropriate skills leading to few 0.1 employers outside schools and nurseries being will- 0.0 Voucher Training Both Control ing to hire women, who in turn continue to study to become teachers and nurses. xii Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? The pilot suggests the presence of significant regu- was the minimum permitted by the voucher inter- latory constraints inhibiting the formalization of vention. Less than 8 percent of graduates with vouch- employment for Jordanian youth. Article 35 of Jor- ers who were employed were hired at less than the dan’s labor law specifies a three month probationary minimum wage. After vouchers expired, this figure period during which an employer can terminate a jumped to above 20 percent. When the minimum worker without notification or termination remu- wage was not made a pre-condition for employment neration. After this period, employers are required (for the training and control groups), more than 25% to give one month’s notification and remunerate of those employed earned less than 150 JD. workers one month per year of service on a pro- rated basis upon termination, which adds costs The transition to lower wages over time combined to firing employees. In the pilot, the length of the with the primary reason for the termination of em- job voucher period was set at six months with this ployment being that the graduates were “unafford- three month rule in mind, the idea being that the able without the subsidyâ€? reveals that the minimum six month subsidy may induce them to hire gradu- wage is both binding and likely set too high for this ates beyond the three month probation period and category of young entrants into the labor market. thereby bring graduates into the formal employ- Despite up to six months of work experience with a ment system. In practice, however, most graduates graduate, employers considered the minimum wage employed through the voucher were not fired after too high relative to the marginal productivity of the three months because they were never formally reg- workers they had hired. This may be one important istered. Indeed, very few of the girls with vouchers regulatory reason that the impacts of the voucher were registered in the Social Security Corporation’s were temporary and that female youth unemploy- database. In effect, the jobs created by the voucher ment rates are so high. were informal and temporary in nature making it easy for firms to declare these jobs redundant when Although the Jordan NOW pilot was fairly small the voucher period ended after six months or offer (with a budget of USD one million) relative to other these employees lower wages inducing them to quit. employment projects and targeted to a very specific Another disincentive for firms to formally register demographic, the evaluation was able to illuminate employees is the added financial burden of doing the deep demand side and regulatory constraints to so. If firms had registered these workers as formally the school-to-work transition of young people in employed, the employers would have to pay social Jordan. The implications apply to a great extent to security taxes (12.25 percent of wages) and payroll young men who find jobs faster than young wom- taxes (7 percent of wages), which together add 20 en but face long unemployment and search dura- percent to the cost of employing a worker. tions. These implications extend to youth across the Middle East and North Africa Region where young Another feature of formal employment in Jordan is people enter similar labor markets with limited pri- the requirement to pay the minimum wage, which vate sector opportunities and rigid labor laws, pre- was set at a universal rate of 150 JD for the entire fer public sector employment, search for very long duration of the pilot. The minimum wage recently periods of time to get their first job, and face high increased to 190 JD in February 2012, two months unemployment rates. Thus, the insights from this after the conclusion of all data collection. 75 percent small and focused pilot can offer many lessons to of the graduates employed with the voucher were Jordan and the region as a whole. hired at a wage of exactly 150 JD per month, which ‫الملخص التنÙ?يذي‬ ‫وتمثلت الغاية من وراء إطالق هذا البرنامج الريادي Ù?ÙŠ زيادة مشاركة اإلناث Ù?ي‬ ‫القوى العاملة وتقديم يد العون للنساء للحصول على Ù?رص للعمل‪ .‬وعلى وجه‬ ‫الخصوص‪ ،‬هدÙ? البرنامج إلى زيادة حجم المعلومات بين الشركات والعاملين‬ ‫المحتملين‪ ،‬وإيجاد Ù?رص لتغيير األنماط السلبية لدى الشركات والشابات حول‬ ‫دور المرأة Ù?ÙŠ سوق العمل‪ ،‬وتحسين المهارات اإلدارية ومهارات االتصال لديهن‪.‬‬ ‫واجه األردن معدالت بطالة ضمن Ù?ئة الشباب بالغة الخطورة‪ ،‬حيث‬ ‫وصل معدل البطالة Ù?ÙŠ صÙ?ÙˆÙ? الذكور إلى ‪ 19‬بالمئة مقابل ‪ 48‬بالمئة‬ ‫لإلناث ضمن الÙ?ئة العمرية ‪ 24-19‬عاماً ممن يسعون للحصول على‬ ‫عمل ولكن دون جدوى‪ .‬وبالنسبة للرجال‪ ،‬يتم االنتقال من مرحلة‬ ‫ي‬ ‫التعليم إلى مرحلة العمل بوتيرة بطيئة (‪ 15‬شهرا Ù‹ كمعدل)‪ ،‬لكن هذا األمر ال‬ ‫وعليه‪ ،‬تالÙ? البرنامج الريادي من تدخلين‪ -‬مهارات الحصول على المهارات‬ ‫ينطبق على النساء‪ ،‬حيث أن ذلك االنتقال ال يحدث Ù?ÙŠ كثير من األحيان على‬ ‫الوظيÙ?ية وقسائم العمل‪ -‬حيث تم استهداÙ? Ù?وج العام ‪ 2010‬من خريجات‬ ‫اإلطالق‪ .‬وإذا لم تقم النساء باالنتقال بشكل سلس من مرحلة التعليم إلى‬ ‫كليات المجتمع الحكومية‪ .‬وبالÙ?عل‪ ،‬تم عقد تدريب حول المهارات الوظيÙ?ية‬ ‫مرحلة العمل‪ ،‬Ù?إن من المرجح أن ال يواصلن السعي للعثور على Ù?رصة عمل‪،‬‬ ‫من قبل مركز تطوير األعمال‪ ،‬وهو مؤسسة تدريبية رائدة Ù?ÙŠ األردن‪ ،‬حيث‬ ‫وهو أمر تعكسه المستويات المتراجعة لمشاركة النساء Ù?ÙŠ القوى العاملة على‬ ‫تكون التدريب من ‪ 17‬جلسة تدريبية مدة كل منها ‪ 45‬ساعة‪ .‬وقد ركز هذا‬ ‫مدى دورة حياة المرأة‪.‬‬ ‫التدريب التÙ?اعلي على مهارات االتصال الÙ?عال‪ ،‬الكتابة المهنية‪ ،‬إدارة الوقت‪،‬‬ ‫التÙ?كير اإليجابي‪ ،‬خدمة الجمهور‪ ،‬إجراء المقابالت‪ ،‬إلى غير ذلك من المهارات‬ ‫وÙ?ÙŠ ظل ما تشهده المملكة من ارتÙ?اع لمعدل البطالة لدى النساء وتدني‬ ‫غير اإلدراكية األخرى‪ .‬من ناحية أخرى‪ ،‬تم توزيع قسائم العمل‪ ،‬وهي عبارة عن‬ ‫مشاركتهن Ù?ÙŠ القوى العاملة‪ ،‬طلبت الحكومة األردنية‪ ،‬وبعد إجراء نقاشات‬ ‫حواÙ?ز قصيرة األمد للشركات من أجل االستÙ?ادة من تعيين الشابات وصالحة لمدة‬ ‫بين رئيس البنك الدولي السيد روبرت زوليك ودولة رئيس الوزراء األسبق نادر‬ ‫ستة أشهر من التوظيÙ? كحد أقصى على مدى ‪ 11‬شهرا Ù‹ (تشرين أول ‪ 2010-‬آب‬ ‫الذهبي ومعالي وزير التخطيط والتعاون الدولي األسبق السيدة سهير العلي‪ ،‬من‬ ‫‪ .)2011‬وقد تمت إدارة عملية توزيع القسائم من قبل شركة الدجاني لالستشارات‬ ‫البنك الدولي تقديم العون Ù?ÙŠ إعداد برنامج تشغيل ريادي يستهدÙ? خريجات‬ ‫وذلك من خالل نظام معلومات إدارية قام بتتبع وتحديث وإعداد تقارير شهرية‬ ‫كليات المجتمع Ù?ÙŠ العام ‪ .2009‬ويأتي هذا البرنامج الريادي Ù?ÙŠ إطار برنامج‬ ‫لسير العمل حول الجهات المستÙ?يدة من القسائم والشركات التي قامت بتعيين‬ ‫موسع للتعاون الÙ?ني يرمي إلى تقديم العون لجهود إصالح نظام كليات المجتمع‬ ‫الشابات من حملة القسائم‪ .‬وكجهة مسؤولة عن إدارة القسائم‪ ،‬تولت الشركة‬ ‫الحكومية Ù?ÙŠ األردن‪ .‬وتشكل النساء المتعلمات السواد األعظم من العاطالت عن‬ ‫إدارة صندوق الدÙ?عات المقدمة للشركات بموجب مكون قسائم العمل‪ ،‬واإلشراÙ?‬ ‫ة على وجه‬‫العمل Ù?ÙŠ األردن‪ ،‬وتعد التوقعات حول الحصول على وظيÙ?Ø© محدود ً‬ ‫على هذا الصندوق‪ ،‬وتسديد المبالغ المستحقة ألصحاب العمل بموجب معايير‬ ‫خاص بالنسبة لخريجات كليات المجتمع كونهن يتناÙ?سن Ù?ÙŠ ذات القطاعات‬ ‫أهلية وعقود عمل صارمة‪ .‬وÙ?ÙŠ هذا الشأن‪ ،‬قام Ù?ريق مكون من اربعة الى خمسة‬ ‫مع نظيراتهن من خريجات الجامعات‪.‬‬ ‫من موظÙ?ÙŠ البنك الدولي وبشكل متواصل بالرصد واإلشراÙ? على سير العمل‪.‬‬ ‫وÙ?ÙŠ هذا السياق‪ ،‬تم عقد مشاورات مكثÙ?Ø© ضمت طيÙ?اً واسعاً من األطراÙ?‬ ‫وبغية إجراء تقييم Ù?عال ألثر هذين النوعين من التدخالت‪ ،‬Ù?قد قمنا بإضاÙ?ة‬ ‫المعنية بما Ù?ÙŠ ذلك الطلبة‪ ،‬شركات القطاع الخاص‪ ،‬غرÙ? التجارة والصناعة‪،‬‬ ‫تقييم عشوائي للبرنامج الريادي‪ ،‬والذي يشكل المعيار األساسي للتقييمات‪ .‬وÙ?ي‬ ‫جامعة البلقاء التطبيقية‪ ،‬عمداء كليات المجتمع‪ ،‬لجنة توجيهية مؤلÙ?Ø© من‬ ‫العام ‪ ØŒ2010‬قمنا باختيار خريجات من ثماني كليات مجتمع من أصل ‪ 14‬التابعة‬ ‫ممثلين عن اللجنة الوطنية األردنية لشؤون المرأة‪ ،‬وزارة التعليم العالي والبحث‬ ‫ء للحصول على‬ ‫لجامعة البلقاء التطبيقية والمنتشرة Ù?ÙŠ جميع أنحاء المملكة‪ ،‬سوا ً‬ ‫العلمي‪ ،‬وزارة التخطيط والتعاون الدولي‪ ،‬وزارة العمل‪ ،‬دائرة اإلحصاءات العامة‪،‬‬ ‫قسيمة العمل‪ ،‬أو الÙ?رصة للمشاركة Ù?ÙŠ التدريب‪ ،‬أو قسيمة العمل والتدريب‪ ،‬أو‬ ‫اللجنة االستشارية للنوع االجتماعي والتي تضم ممثلين عن المجتمع المدني‬ ‫ال شيء من خالل نظام القرعة‪ .‬ومن أصل ‪ 1350‬مشاركاً Ù?ÙŠ البرنامج‪ ،‬تم منح ‪300‬‬ ‫والقطاع الخاص‪ .‬ولعبت وزارة التخطيط والتعاون الدولي دور الجهة النظيرة‬ ‫مشارك قسائم العمل‪ ،‬وخضع ‪ 300‬مشارك Ù?ÙŠ التدريب‪ ،‬ومنح ‪ 300‬مشارك كال‬ ‫الرئيسية من جانب الحكومة األردنية‪ .‬وقد ساهمت هذه النقاشات Ù?ÙŠ بلورة‬ ‫من قسائم العمل والتدريب‪ ،‬وتم تخصيص ‪ 450‬مشاركاً ضمن مجموعة ضابطة لم‬ ‫أهداÙ? وتصميم برنامج ريادي تحت عنوان توÙ?ير Ù?رص عمل جديدة لألردنيات‬ ‫تحصل على أية مناÙ?ع‪ .‬وباإلضاÙ?Ø© إلى ضمان العدالة‪ ،‬تضمنت إحدى أهداÙ? نظام‬ ‫(األردن اآلن) والذي أطلق تحت رعاية جاللة الملكة رانيا العبد الله المعظمة‪.‬‬ ‫‪xiii‬‬ ‫‪xv‬‬ ‫?‪Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan‬‬ ‫‪1‬‬ ‫من الÙ?تيات من حملة قسائم العمل Ù?ÙŠ قاعدة بيانات المؤسسة العامة للضمان‬ ‫االجتماعي‪ .‬ومن ناحية Ù?علية‪ ،‬كانت الوظائÙ? المستحدثة بÙ?عل القسائم ذات‬ ‫طبيعة غير رسمية ومؤقتة‪ ،‬األمر الذي سهل على الشركات اعتبار هذه الوظائÙ?‬ ‫زائدة عقب انتهاء Ù?ترة صالحية القسائم (الستة أشهر) أو عرض أجور متدنية‬ ‫على هؤالء الموظÙ?ين لتشجيعهم على ترك العمل‪ .‬ومن العوامل األخرى التي ال‬ ‫على الموظÙ?ات‪ ،‬وهي أجور ال تقبلها العديد من الÙ?تيات اللواتي انتهت صالحية‬ ‫قسائم العمل الخاصة بهن‪ .‬وقد يرجع السبب Ù?ÙŠ ذلك إلى أن هذه الشركات‬ ‫محكومة من جانب الطلب «الحاجة»‪ :‬حيث أنها لم تكن قادر ً‬ ‫ة على تعيين‬ ‫موظÙ?ين إضاÙ?يين لقاء أي أجر كان‪.‬‬ ‫تشجع الشركات على تسجيل الموظÙ?ين بشكل رسمي العبء المالي المترتب‬ ‫وتشير هذه النتائج إلى عدم القدرة على استحداث الوظائÙ?‪ ،‬األمر الذي يؤدي‬ ‫على تسجيلهم‪ .‬Ù?لو قامت الشركات بتسجيل هؤالء العمال بشكل رسمي‪ ،‬لترتب‬ ‫إلى ضعÙ? الطلب على العمالة الشابة‪ .‬وسيتطلب تعزيز استحداث الوظائÙ?‬ ‫على هذه الشركات دÙ?ع اشتراكات الضمان االجتماعي (‪ 12.25‬بالمئة من األجور)‬ ‫بقيادة القطاع الخاص Ù?ÙŠ األردن إتباع نهج شامل الستحداث الوظائÙ? بحيث‬ ‫باإلضاÙ?Ø© إلى الضريبة على الرواتب (سبع بالمئة من األجر)‪ ،‬أي ما مجموعه ‪20‬‬ ‫يتم التطرق إلى جانبي العرض والطلب على حد سواء‪ .‬Ù?على سبيل المثال‪،‬‬ ‫بالمئة ككلÙ?Ø© إضاÙ?ية لتعيين العامل‪.‬‬ ‫تدعو اإلستراتيجية الوطنية للتشغيل إلى إجراء إصالحات على البيئة القانونية‬ ‫والتنظيمية بغرض تحÙ?يز االستثمارات Ù?ÙŠ القطاعات ذات القيمة المضاÙ?Ø© العالية‪،‬‬ ‫ومن الخصائص األخرى للتوظيÙ? الرسمي Ù?ÙŠ األردن الحد األدنى من األجور‪،‬‬ ‫وتحسين درجة التناÙ?سية‪ ،‬وتعزيز بيئة األعمال Ù?ÙŠ األردن‪ ،‬بحيث يتم تسهيل‬ ‫والذي تم تحديده بشكل عام عند ‪ 150‬دينار أردني لكامل مدة البرنامج الريادي‪.‬‬ ‫إجراءات إقامة وإغالق األعمال خصوصاً بالنسبة للمشاريع الصغيرة والمتوسطة‬ ‫وقد تم مؤخرا Ù‹ رÙ?ع الحد األدنى من األجور إلى ‪ 190‬دينار أردني Ù?ÙŠ شباط‬ ‫الحجم‪ ،‬وتحديث برامج التدريب المهني من أجل ضمان قدر أكبر من المواءمة‬ ‫‪ ØŒ2012‬أي بعد شهرين من انتهاء عملية جمع البيانات‪ .‬وقد تم تعيين ‪ 75‬بالمئة‬ ‫مع احتياجات سوق العمل‪ ،‬واتخاذ إجراءات لتوسيع نطاق مشاركة اإلناث Ù?ي‬ ‫من الخريجات من حملة قسائم العمل براتب شهري قدره ‪ 150‬دينار أردني‬ ‫القوى العاملة وذلك من خالل توÙ?ير خيارات عمل مرنة وبيئة عمل مناسبة‪.‬‬ ‫بالضبط‪ ،‬وهو الحد األدنى المسموح به من خالل القسائم‪ .‬كما تم تعيين أقل‬ ‫من ثماني بالمئة من الخريجات من حملة قسائم العمل برواتب تقل عن الحد‬ ‫وتتمثل إحدى جوانب سوق العمل والتي لم يتطرق البرنامج الريادي لها بشكل‬ ‫األدنى لألجور‪ .‬وعقب انتهاء Ù?ترة صالحية القسائم‪ ،‬ارتÙ?ع هذه النسبة إلى ما‬ ‫صريح Ù?ÙŠ الطلب على العمالة واستحداث الوظائÙ? من خالل القطاع الخاص‪.‬‬ ‫Ù?وق ‪ 20‬بالمئة‪ .‬وعندما لم يتم اعتبار الحد األدنى لألجور كشرك مسبق للتوظيÙ?‬ ‫رغم ذلك‪ ،‬يشير التقرير بشكل غير مباشر إلى أنه كان هنالك عدد كبير من‬ ‫(بالنسبة لمجموعة التدريب والمجموعة الضابطة)‪ ،‬حصل أكثر من ‪ 25‬بالمئة‬ ‫األشخاص الساعين للحصول وظائÙ? شحيحة Ù?ÙŠ القطاعات التالية‪ :‬التعليم‪،‬‬ ‫من الخريجات العامالت على أقل من ‪ 150‬دينار أردني‪.‬‬ ‫الصحة‪ ،‬اإلدارة‪ -‬وهي القطاعات التي يتم Ù?يها توظيÙ? خريجات كليات المجتمع‬ ‫Ù?ÙŠ العادة‪ .‬ويبقى السؤال Ù…Ù?توحاً حول ما إذا كانت تخصصات الدراسة المتأثرة‬ ‫ويكشÙ? االنتقال إلى األجور المتدنية عير الوقت باإلضاÙ?Ø© إلى السبب الرئيسي‬ ‫بالنوع االجتماع تؤدي إلى اقتصار من الخيارات المهنية لتلك الشابات على‬ ‫إلنهاء الخدمات وهو أنه لم يكن باإلمكان تعيين الخريجات «بدون وجود دعم»‬ ‫قطاعات تعاني من العرض المÙ?رط وتباطؤ النمو مع وجود حيز ضيق الستحداث‬ ‫أن الحد األدنى من األجور يعتبر ملزماً ومن المرجح أن يكون مرتÙ?عاً لهذه الÙ?ئة‬ ‫الوظائÙ?‪ .‬من ناحية أخرى‪ ،‬قد يكون االقتصاد مسؤوالً عن الوضع الحالي كونه‬ ‫من الداخلين الجدد إلى سوق العمل‪ .‬Ù?على الرغم من امتالك الخريجة لخبرة‬ ‫ال يتمتع بقدر كاÙ?ÙŠ من التنوع الالزم الستحداث Ù?رص للعمل ودÙ?ع النساء نحو‬ ‫عملية تصل إلى ستة أشهر‪ ،‬اعتبر أصحاب العمل أن الحد األدنى من األجور‬ ‫قطاعات اقتصادية أخرى‪ .‬ويعمل هذين الخيارين على تعزيز بعضهما اآلخر‪،‬‬ ‫مرتÙ?عاً للغاية قياساً باإلنتاجية الهامشية للعاملين الذين قاموا بتعيينهم‪ .‬وقد‬ ‫حيث تؤدي قلة امتالك النساء للمهارات الوظيÙ?ية إلى دÙ?ع عدد قليل من أصحاب‬ ‫يكون ذلك أحد األسباب التنظيمية الرئيسية التي أدت إلى جعل آثار القسائم‬ ‫العمل‪ -‬باستثناء المدارس والحضانات‪ -‬إلى تعيينهن‪ ،‬بينما تواصل اإلناث الدراسة‬ ‫ة وارتÙ?اع معدل البطالة لدى الشابات‪.‬‬ ‫مؤقت ً‬ ‫للتخرج كمعلمات أو ممرضات‪.‬‬ ‫وعلى الرغم من أن حجم برنامج األردن اآلن الريادي كان صغيرا Ù‹ للغاية (حيث‬ ‫وقد أشار البرنامج الريادي إلى وجود معيقات تنظيمية بارزة تضر بعملية توÙ?ير‬ ‫ة بمشاريع التشغيل األخرى وأنه‬ ‫بلغت ميزانيته مليون دوالر أمريكي) مقارن ً‬ ‫الوظائÙ? للشباب األردني‪ .‬وتنص المادة (‪ )35‬من قانون العمل األردني على‬ ‫ة للغاية‪ ،‬إال أن التقييم يلقي الضوء على عمق‬ ‫ة محدد ً‬ ‫استهدÙ? مجموع ً‬ ‫ة سكاني ً‬ ‫وجود Ù?ترة تجريبية مدتها ثالثة أشهر يستطيع خاللها صاحب العمل إنهاء خدمات‬ ‫جانب الطلب والمعيقات التنظيمية أمام التحول من مرحلة التعليم إلى مرحلة‬ ‫الموظÙ? دون الحاجة إلخطاره أو تعويضه‪ .‬وبعد انقضاء هذه المدة‪ ،‬يتوجب‬ ‫العمل بالنسبة للشباب األردني‪ .‬وتنطبق الدالالت إلى حد كبير على الشباب‬ ‫على صاحب العمل إخطار العامل قبل شهر من تاريخ إنهاء خدماته‪ ،‬ومنحه‬ ‫من الذكور أيضاً‪ ،‬والذين يعثرون على وظائÙ? بصورة أسرع من نظرائهم من‬ ‫تعويضاً قدره أجر شهر عن كل سنة خدمة بشكل تناسبي عند إنهاء خدمات‬ ‫اإلناث‪ ،‬إال أنهم يواجهون Ù?ترات طويلة من البطالة والبحث عن عمل‪ .‬كما أن‬ ‫الموظÙ?‪ ،‬مما يضيÙ? تكاليÙ? على أصحاب العمل عند Ù?صل الموظÙ?ين‪ .‬وÙ?ي‬ ‫لذلك دالالت بالنسبة للشباب Ù?ÙŠ كاÙ?Ø© أرجاء منطقة الشرق األوسط وشمال‬ ‫هذا البرنامج الريادي‪ ،‬تم تحديد Ù?ترة صالحية قسائم العمل بستة أشهر مع‬ ‫أÙ?ريقيا أيضاً‪ ،‬حيث يدخل الشباب إلى Ù†Ù?س أسواق العمل مع وجود Ù?رص عمل‬ ‫أخذ األشهر الثالثة للÙ?ترة التجريبية بعين االعتبار‪ .‬وقد تمثلت الÙ?كرة Ù?ÙŠ أن‬ ‫محدودة من قبل القطاع الخاص وقوانين عمل صارمة‪ ،‬كما أنهم ÙŠÙ?ضلون العمل‬ ‫تقديم الدعم لمدة ستة أشهر قد يشجع أصحاب العمل على تعيين الخريجات‬ ‫Ù?ÙŠ القطاع العام‪ ،‬ويمضون Ù?ترات طويلة من الوقت بحثاً عن عملهم األول‪،‬‬ ‫إلى ما بعد الÙ?ترة التجريبية‪ ،‬األمر الذي سيؤدي إلى إدخال الخريجات Ù?ÙŠ نظام‬ ‫ويواجهون معدالت بطالة مرتÙ?عة‪ .‬ومع شيوع هذه الظاهرة‪ ،‬يمكن لوجهات‬ ‫التوظيÙ? الرسمي‪ .‬لكن ومن الناحية العملية‪ ،‬لم يتم Ù?صل معظم الخريجات‬ ‫النظر الناتجة عن هذا البرنامج الريادي الصغير ومحدد النطاق أن تقدم العديد‬ ‫اللواتي حصلن على الوظائÙ? من خالل قسائم العمل عقب مرور ثالثة أشهر‬ ‫من الدروس سواء لألردن أو المنطقة ككل‪.‬‬ ‫ألنه لم يتم تسجيلهن بشكل رسمي‪ .‬وÙ?ÙŠ الحقيقة‪ ،‬تم تسجيل عدد قليل جدا ً‬ ‫اﻟﻤﻠﺨﺺ اﻟﺘﻨﻔﻴﺬي‬ ‫‪xiv‬‬ ‫تلك القسائم‪ .‬رغم ذلك‪ ،‬كان هذا التوظيÙ? ذو طبيعة مؤقتة (انظر الشكل ‪2‬‬ ‫القرعة ضمان أن تتألÙ? كل مجموعة من مشاركين يحملون Ù†Ù?س الصÙ?ات‪ ،‬وهو‬ ‫والشكل ‪ .)3‬Ù?عقب انتهاء Ù?ترة صالحية قسائم العمل‪ ،‬عاد معدل التوظيÙ? العام‬ ‫أمر يعد هاماً من أجل تقييم آثار التدخالت الريادية Ù?ÙŠ مرحلة الحقة‪ .‬ويمكن‬ ‫للخريجات من حملة القسائم إلى Ù†Ù?س المعدل Ù?ÙŠ حال عدم حصولهن على‬ ‫أن تعزى أية اختالÙ?ات ملموسة بين المجموعات Ù?ÙŠ المستقبل بشكل واضح‬ ‫تلك القسائم‪ .‬وخارج إقليم الوسط‪ ،‬واصلت الÙ?تيات من حملة القسائم تحقيق‬ ‫إلى التدخالت وليس إلى أية اختالÙ?ات سابقة Ù?ÙŠ الخصائص بين المجموعات‪.‬‬ ‫معدالت توظيÙ? مرتÙ?عة‪ ،‬لكن ذلك قد جاء على حساب الÙ?تيات اللواتي لم‬ ‫يحصلن على تلك القسائم‪.‬‬ ‫وقد أتبع التقييم الصارم بجمع بيانات دقيقة من قبل شركة الدجاني لالستشارات‪.‬‬ ‫كما قمنا بإعداد مسح أساسي قبل شهر من موعد التخرج من البرنامج‪ ،‬ومسح‬ ‫لم تتوÙ?ر أية إحصائيات واضحة حول أثر التدريب على المهارات الوظيÙ?ية‬ ‫منتصÙ? المدة قبل ثمانية أشهر من التخرج من البرنامج حيث كانت القسائم ال‬ ‫على مخرجات التوظيÙ?‪ ،‬سواء على المدى القصير (ستة أشهر عقب استكمال‬ ‫تزال صالحةً‪ ،‬ومسح نهاية المدة بعد ‪ 16‬شهرا Ù‹ من التخرج من البرنامج وذلك عقب‬ ‫التدريب)‪ ،‬أو على المدى Ù?وق المتوسط (‪ 14‬أشهر عقب استكمال التدريب‬ ‫االنتهاء من كاÙ?Ø© التدخالت‪ .‬وÙ?ÙŠ كل من هذه المسوحات‪ ،‬قمنا بنجاح بمتابعة‬ ‫ة على ذلك‪ ،‬لم يكن للبرنامج‬‫وأربعة أشهر عقب انتهاء البرنامج الريادي)‪ .‬عالو ً‬ ‫‪ 93‬بالمئة من المشاركين‪ .‬ومن خالل هذه المسوحات‪ ،‬Ù?قد قمنا بدمج البيانات‬ ‫أي أثر يمكن تعقبه على المشاركة Ù?ÙŠ القوى العاملة أو التجارب العملية‪ .‬رغم‬ ‫اإلدارية المتعلقة بالبرنامج التدريبي‪ ،‬بيانات المتابعة والتحقق الشهرية الصادرة‬ ‫ذلك‪ ،‬ساهم التدريب Ù?ÙŠ تعزيز الثقة بالذات والصحة العقلية لدى الخريجات‪.‬‬ ‫عن نظام المعلومات اإلدارية‪ ،‬وبيانات المؤسسة العامة للضمان االجتماعي بغرض‬ ‫التأكد من بيانات المسوحات وتدعيمها‪ .‬أخيرا ً‪ ،‬قمنا بإجراء مسح لكاÙ?Ø© الشركات‬ ‫وقد شجعت النقود الÙ?ورية على شكل دعم األجور الشركات على انتهاز الÙ?رصة‬ ‫تقريباً والتي قامت بتوظيÙ? المشاركين Ù?ÙŠ البرنامج الريادي Ù?ÙŠ نيسان ‪2010‬‬ ‫لتعيين العاملين الذين لم يكن باإلمكان تعيين بغير تلك الحواÙ?ز‪ .‬وÙ?ÙŠ ظل غياب‬ ‫من أجل تحليل التطورات التي حدثت من وجهة نظر الشركات‪.‬‬ ‫قسائم العمل‪ ،‬اعتبر العديد من هذه الشركات أن إنتاجية هؤالء الموظÙ?ات ال‬ ‫تساوي ‪ 150‬دينار أردني‪ .‬وبالÙ?عل‪ ،‬عرضت الكثير من الشركات أجورا Ù‹ متدني ً‬ ‫ة‬ ‫بشكل عام‪ ،‬تمثلت أهداÙ? برنامج األردن اآلن الريادي Ù?ÙŠ زيادة المشاركة Ù?ي‬ ‫ة الكتساب بعض الخبرات العملية (الشكل‬ ‫القوى العاملة وإعطاء الشابات Ù?رص ً‬ ‫‪ .)1‬وقد تم تحقيق هذه األهداÙ? بالكامل من خالل التدخل المتعلق بقسائم‬ ‫الشكل ‪ :2‬نسبة الخريجات اللواتي تم توظيÙ?هن Ù?ÙŠ نيسان‬ ‫العمل‪ .‬Ù?بعد انقضاء ‪ 16‬شهرا Ù‹ من التخرج من البرنامج‪ ،‬كانت معدالت المشاركة‬ ‫‪( 2011‬أثناء Ù?ترة سريان قسائم العمل)‬ ‫Ù?ÙŠ القوى العاملة بالنسبة للÙ?تيات اللواتي حصلن على قسائم العمل أعلى‬ ‫ة‬ ‫ة مع نظيراتهن Ù?ÙŠ المجموعات األخرى‪ .‬عالو ً‬ ‫بمقدار ‪ 10‬نقاط مئوية مقارن ً‬ ‫‪0.6‬‬ ‫على ذلك‪ ،‬حصلت هؤالء الÙ?تيات على خبرة Ù?ÙŠ سوق العمل‪ ،‬كما كانت لديهن‬ ‫‪0.5‬‬ ‫Ù?رصة Ø£Ù?ضل للعمل بنسبة ‪ 27‬بالمئة‪ .‬وكمتوسط‪ ،‬حصلت هؤالء الÙ?تيات على‬ ‫‪0.4‬‬ ‫شهرين ونصÙ? كخبرة عملية إضاÙ?ية‪ .‬وقد كانت هذه اآلثار أكثر وضوحاً Ù?ي‬ ‫‪0.3‬‬ ‫المحاÙ?ظات الواقعة خارج إقليم الوسط‪ .‬بالتالي‪ ،‬أصابت قسائم العمل النجاح‬ ‫‪0.2‬‬ ‫من حيث تسريع مدة االنتقال بين مرحلة التعليم ومرحلة العمل والمساعدة‬ ‫‪0.1‬‬ ‫Ù?ÙŠ عدد أكبر من الÙ?تيات على وظائÙ? Ù?ÙŠ وقت سريع‪.‬‬ ‫‪0.0‬‬ ‫مجموعة قسيمة‬ ‫مجموعة‬ ‫مجموعة التدريب‬ ‫مجموعة‬ ‫العمل‬ ‫التدريب‬ ‫و قسيمة العمل‬ ‫المراقبة‬ ‫وأثناء Ù?ترة سريان قسائم العمل‪ ،‬زادت احتمالية حصول الخريجات اللواتي‬ ‫يحمل قسائم العمل بمقدار ‪ 39‬بالمئة مقارن ً‬ ‫ة مع الخريجات اللواتي لم يحملن‬ ‫الشكل ‪ :3‬نسبة الخريجات اللواتي تم توظيÙ?هن Ù?ÙŠ كانون‬ ‫الشكل ‪ :1‬المشاركة Ù?ÙŠ القوى العاملة وممارسة العمل من قبل‬ ‫أول ‪( 2011‬عقب ثالثة أشهر من انتهاء Ù?ترة صالحية‬ ‫المشاركين Ù?ÙŠ برنامج األردن اآلن الريادي‬ ‫قسائم العمل)‬ ‫‪80‬‬ ‫‪0.6‬‬ ‫‪60‬‬ ‫‪0.5‬‬ ‫‪0.4‬‬ ‫‪40‬‬ ‫‪0.3‬‬ ‫‪20‬‬ ‫‪0.2‬‬ ‫‪0.1‬‬ ‫‪0‬‬ ‫يعمل من أي وقت مضى‬ ‫معدل المشاركة Ù?ÙŠ القوى العاملة‬ ‫‪0.0‬‬ ‫مجموعة قسيمة‬ ‫مجموعة‬ ‫مجموعة التدريب‬ ‫مجموعة‬ ‫مجموعة المراقبة‬ ‫مجموعة التدريب‬ ‫مجموعة قسيمة العمل‬ ‫العمل‬ ‫التدريب‬ ‫و قسيمة العمل‬ ‫المراقبة‬ 1 Young Jordanians Face High Rates of Unemployment J ordan is an upper-middle income country There is an excess supply of young, educated, pre- with a population of 6 million and GNI per dominantly female workers that the labor market capita of US $4,340 in 2010. From 2004 to simply has not been able to absorb. For men, un- 2008, GDP growth in Jordan averaged a robust employment rates decline dramatically as they get 7.6 percent, but subsequently slowed to between older from nearly 20 percent in their early twenties 2 to 3 percent in 2009 and 2010.1 However, dur- to 5 percent by age 30. In contrast, young women in ing this entire period, unemployment remained their early 20s face much higher rates of unemploy- fairly constant at about 9 percent for men and ment of around 50 percent and they do not reach 22 percent for women. While unemployment is unemployment rates as low as 5 percent until their low among men over 30 years old (5 percent), it early 40s (see Figure 4). As the following figures and is fairly high among male youth aged 19 to 24 at analysis will show, much of the decline in female 19 percent and shockingly high among female youth aged 19–24—almost 50 percent (see Table 1 World Bank. (2012). Data retrieved April 18, 2012, from 1). Nearly 70 percent of Jordan’s population is less World Development Indicators Online (WDI) database. than 30 years old, and one in five young Jorda- 2 These statistics and the rest of the data referred to in this nians who want to work simply can’t find a job.2 paper (unless otherwise noted) are from the publically avail- There is a qualitative difference between unem- able Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey ( JLMPS), which is ployed men and unemployed women in their 20s: a nationally representative survey of 5102 households con- ducted in 2010 by the National Center for Human Resource while 70 percent of unemployed male youth have Development (NCHRD) and the Jordanian Department of not received any education past high school, 75 Statistics (DOS). Staff analysis revealed JLMPS and Em- percent unemployed female youth have completed ployment Unemployment Survey (EUS) are highly compat- community college or university. ible non-contradictory data sources. Table 1. Labor Market Conditions by Age and Gender 15–18 19–24 25–29 30–65 Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Unemployment rate 0.31 0.48 0.19 0.48 0.09 0.26 0.05 0.10 Labor force participation rate 0.18 0.01 0.65 0.20 0.94 0.30 0.83 0.17 Share of unemployed 0.08 0.01 0.24 0.17 0.11 0.10 0.22 0.08 Share of total active population 0.03 0.00 0.15 0.04 0.15 0.04 0.49 0.10 Source: 2010 JLMPS. 1 2 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Figure 4.  Unemployment by Age and dan varies dramatically by level of education (see Gender Figure 6): young, educated women really want to work, but as they get older, they tend to drop out of 1.0 the labor force. Young Jordanian women with com- munity college or university degrees participate in Unemployment Rate 0.8 the labor force in greater proportions because they 0.6 are more motivated to actively seek work and more 0.4 likely to successfully find jobs. 0.2 0.0 Educated young women in Jordan have higher rates 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 of employment than their less educated counterparts. Age Women with university degrees make up 26 percent Male Female of the economically active female population aged 20 Source: 2010 JLMPS, the horizontal axis presents the midpoints of 3 year to 29, and have average employment rates of more intervals from 20–64. than 40 percent. Female community college gradu- ates, i.e., those holding an intermediate diploma, make up 12 percent of the economically active female unemployment as women get older is not so much population in their 20s, and have lower employment due to eventual success on the job market but instead rates of about 30 percent. Women with high school driven by discouragement from the labor market as degrees or less, have employment rates as low as 9 per- women unsuccessfully search for jobs and eventually cent. In contrast, young men in their 20s, irrespective drop out of the labor force. of educational level, have employment rates between 78 and 89 percent. As with young women, men with Figure 5 and Figure 6 compare labor force participa- high school degrees or less make up the bulk of the tion among men and women by educational attain- economically active population in their 20s. ment. Irrespective of the level of education, more than 90 percent of men in Jordan actively seek work University educated Jordanian youth, particularly or are employed well into their 40s (Figure 5). In female youth, face higher rates of unemployment contrast, the female labor force participation in Jor- than older and less educated cohorts (Figure 7 and Figure 5. Male Labor Force Participation Figure 6. Female Labor Force Participation Rates by Level of Education Rates by Level of Education 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 Age Age Less than University Intermediate University degree Intermediate Less than intermediate diploma degree or higher diploma or higher diploma intermediate diploma Source: 2010 JLMP, the horizontal axis presents the midpoints of 5 year Source: 2010 JLMPS, the horizontal axis presents the midpoints of 5 year intervals from 20–59. intervals from 20–59. Young Jordanians Face High Rates of Unemployment 3 Figure 8). Indeed, the high rates of labor force par- unemployed. Comparing Figure 6 and Figure 8, the ticipation among young men and young educated parallel decline in female labor force participation women mask significant rates of unemployment and and female unemployment rates as women get older long search durations. According to the JLMPS, the suggest women are leaving the labor market after average amount of time that young women and men, failing to find suitable jobs. who were unemployed at the time of the survey, had been searching for a job was at least 15 months. One Female youth unemployment has long lasting conse- in every two educated women in their 20s in Jor- quences. If a woman can’t find a job within a couple dan is looking for a job and cannot find one, and of years after graduating, she’ll likely never work. On- much of the active female labor force is composed of ly 7 percent of women who ever worked found their women who are looking for work but are currently first job after turning 30 years old. Figure 9 plots, the proportion of each age-group of the Jordanian work- ing age population, who has been employed in at Figure 7. Male Unemployment by Level of least one job. Starting from a far lower base, women Education continue to be employed in far smaller proportions than men, and level off at less than 40 percent by age 1.0 30. In contrast, as young men enter the labor market, one in two successfully finds a job, and by their late Unemployment Rate 0.8 0.6 30s, almost all men have held at least one job. The starkly lower lifetime probability of ever holding a 0.4 job for women reflects the long term consequences 0.2 of female unemployment—once a woman gives up 0.0 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 searching for a job, she’s likely to never return. Age Many factors contribute to this observed pattern: University degree Intermediate Less than or higher diploma intermediate diploma for instance, life events such as early marriage for women correlate with their never working. In Jor- Source: 2010 JLMPS, the horizontal axis presents the midpoints of 5 year dan, 95 percent of women have married by the intervals from 20–59. time they reach 30 years old. Figure 10 illustrates Figure 8. Female Unemployment by Level of Education Figure 9. The Proportion of the Population Who Was Ever Employed 1.0 1.0 Unemployment Rate 0.8 Proportion Ever Employed 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 0.0 Age 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 Age University degree Intermediate Less than or higher diploma intermediate diploma Male Female Source: 2010 JLMPS, the horizontal axis presents the midpoints of 5 year Source: 2010 JLMP, the horizontal axis presents the midpoints of 3 year intervals from 20–59 intervals from 20–64. 4 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? the proportion of women who have ever been em- who choose marriage and family life over employ- ployed by the age that they first married. There ment, perhaps, women who get married later tend is a clear and positive association between age at to be more educated, and more likely to be em- first marriage and ever having held a job. Figure ployed and participate in the labor force or a host 11 plots the labor force participation rates of adult of other reasons. women aged 30 to 45 against their age of first mar- riage. Adult women in this age group are far more Not only does early marriage correlate with low likely to be employed or actively seek work if they participation, but simply being married seems to married in their late 20s rather than if they married be correlated with lower participation. Indeed, la- younger. These patterns may be explained by a host bor force participation varies by marital status and of inter-related explanations: early marriage lim- the domestic labor market opportunities. To illus- its the ability of young women to make decisions trate this point, Figure 12 and Figure 13 compare about their role in the workforce independently, labor force participation rates of married and single women who get married early are precisely those women in various countries in the Middle East and Figure 10. The Proportion of the Female Figure 11. The Labor Force Participation Population Over 30 Ever Rate for Women between Employed by Age of First Ages 30 and 45 by Age of First Marriage Marriage 1.0 1.0 Proportion Ever Employed Labor Force Participation 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 Age at First Marriage Age at First Marriage Source: 2010 JLMPS. Source: 2010 JLMPS. Figure 12. Female Labor Force Participation in MENA by Marital Status LFP of Women by Marital Status (ages 15–64) 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Egypt Jordan Morocco Iraq West Bank and Gaza Yemen Djibouti Married Unmarried Source: Household Surveys; 1/ Official estimates for national non-immigrant population. Young Jordanians Face High Rates of Unemployment 5 North Africa (MENA) region with those of female Within Jordan itself, differences in the availability immigrants from MENA countries to the United of economic opportunities for women vary be- States. While married women in MENA and the tween Central Jordan (in and around Amman) and US have lower rates of participation in the work- Northern and Southern Jordan (outside Amman) force, a greater proportion of married female Arab and influence their labor market outcomes. Female immigrants actively look for work or are employed unemployment is far more pronounced outside in the US relative to their home countries. This Amman where there are fewer firms and fewer jobs is not a definitive analysis but what perhaps sets in total (Figure 14 and Figure 15). At the same these two groups apart is the difference in the labor time, women outside Amman are also participating market environment, regulations about working in the labor force at much higher rates, which sug- especially for women, and the diverse set of job op- gests that these women spend more time looking portunities. for jobs and find it more difficult to find a job than Figure 13. Female Labor Force Participation of Immigrants From MENA to the United States by Marital Status 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Saudi Arabia Syria Algeria Egypt Morocco Married Single Source: 2001–2009 American Community Survey. Unemployment Rates by Region Figure 14.  Unemployment Rates by Region Figure 15.  for Educated Males for Educated Females 1.0 1.0 Unemployment Rate Unemployment Rate 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 Age Age Central Northern and Southern Central Northern and Southern Source: 2010 JLMPS, the horizontal axis presents the midpoints of 5 year Source: 2010 JLMPS, the horizontal axis presents the midpoints of 5 year intervals from 20–59. intervals from 20–59. 6 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Figure 16. Labor Force Participation by Figure 17. Labor Force Participation by Region for Educated Males Region for Educated Females 1.0 1.0 Labor Force Participation Labor Force Participation 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 Age Age Central Northern and Southern Central Northern and Southern Source: 2010 JLMPS. Source: 2010 JLMPS. their counterparts in and around Amman (Figure economic activity. Men dominate in almost every 16 and Figure 17). economic activity: 95 percent of people who work in retail and 88 percent of people who work in pri- The Jordanian labor market is characterized by sep- vate sector and non-governmental administration arate spheres for men and women. Table 2 below are men. Turning to women, of educated working reveals the most common economic activities by women in their twenties, 70 percent are concentrat- gender and education for youth aged 20 to 29. The ed in three sectors: education (44 percent), human first four columns refer to the proportion of that health services (16 percent), and public administra- economic activity in the specified cohort. The fifth tion and defense (11 percent). It is important to column refers to the proportion of women in that note that over half of education and human health Table 2. Economic Activity by Gender and Education for Youth between the Ages of 19 and 29 Male Female Proportion Economic Activity Uneducated Educated Uneducated Educated Female Education 0.01 0.13 0.08 0.44 0.63 Human health and social work activities 0.01 0.06 0.11 0.16 0.61 Professional, scientific and technical activities 0.01 0.04 0.00 0.06 0.36 Financial and insurance activities 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.04 0.31 Other service activities 0.03 0.01 0.10 0.03 0.27 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 0.03 0.01 0.12 0.00 0.25 Information and communication 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.03 0.20 Manufacturing 0.16 0.11 0.26 0.04 0.13 Administrative 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.01 0.12 Public administration and defense 0.33 0.25 0.18 0.11 0.09 Accommodation and food service activities 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.06 Wholesale and retail trade 0.19 0.12 0.04 0.05 0.05 Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.05 Transportation and storage 0.05 0.03 0.00 0.01 0.04 Construction 0.09 0.03 0.00 0.01 0.02 Source: 2010 JLMPS. Young Jordanians Face High Rates of Unemployment 7 service jobs are in the public sector, and these two Table 3 refer to the proportion of courses studied by sectors, the only two with a female majority in Jor- gender. The third column refers to the proportion of dan, comprise the female sphere of the labor market. women who studied that particular course. It is important to note that educated men and The two most common courses of study—educa- women participate in very different kinds of activi- tional science and humanities—fit perfectly into the ties compared to their less educated counterparts. female labor market niche in education; 56 percent Among employed women, virtually no educated of educated women in the field of education studied women work in manufacturing or agriculture, but either educational science or humanities. Likewise, 26 percent of less educated women work in manu- 84 percent in human health studied health. On facturing and 12 percent in agriculture. Among men the other hand, women make up nearly half of the economic activities are less segregated by education, graduates with business and administration degrees however, the uneducated men find themselves in the yet only 12 percent of the non-public administrative retail at much higher rates than educated men. sector and 10 percent of the public administration sector is composed of women. The labor market outcomes for women mirror the fields of study that women specialize in, and these in turn restrict women’s economic opportunities to a few The Labor Market for Community sectors, as shown in Table 3. The first two columns of College Graduates This predominance of women in a few fields of Table 3.  Courses of Study, by Gender, study—education, administration and human Ages 19–29 health—is true for community college graduates Proportion and university graduates alike. Upwards of three- Male Female Female quarters of all women who graduated from com- Social services 0.00 0.01 1.00 munity colleges (with an intermediate diploma) Journalism and information 0.00 0.01 0.95 and universities graduate in one of these three fields. Manufacturing and processing 0.00 0.01 0.94 Given these limited fields of study, female commu- Life Science 0.01 0.03 0.89 nity colleges and university graduates compete for Education science 0.06 0.24 0.85 jobs within the same sectors. This competition se- Mathematics and statistics 0.01 0.02 0.73 verely disadvantages community college graduates Physical science 0.02 0.04 0.73 because they are forced to compete with people who Humanities 0.12 0.17 0.65 have more prestigious degrees and years of educa- Personal services 0.02 0.02 0.61 tion. Community college students typically have Social and behavioral science 0.03 0.03 0.58 limited financial means or low Tawjihi scores or Arts 0.04 0.04 0.58 took the vocational work track in high school. Health 0.08 0.08 0.57 Business and administration 0.25 0.16 0.48 Since the inception of community colleges, the Architecture and building 0.03 0.02 0.46 broad objectives of the community college system Computing 0.13 0.07 0.42 were to: (a) to provide students with relevant practi- Environmental protection 0.00 0.00 0.41 cal skills within their relevant field in preparation Law 0.04 0.01 0.33 for entry to the labor market; or (b) to transition Agriculture, forestry and fishery 0.01 0.00 0.33 students into a degree-level university education, Engineering and engineering trades 0.14 0.03 0.22 fittingly referred to as ‘bridging’. If the community Veterinary 0.00 0.00 0.00 college graduates have to compete with university Transport services 0.00 0.00 0.00 graduates for the jobs in the same sectors, commu- Source: JLMPS 2010. 8 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? nity college graduates may to some extent be crowd- universities (i.e. bridging). However the additional ed out of these jobs. finances required for university education prevent many from taking advantage of the opportunity. In March 2010, the World Bank carried out a short survey in March 2010 in a sample of community Students were also asked about their preferred sec- colleges around Jordan including the capital Am- tor of employment. More than 40 percent of male man, and asked students in their final year about and female respondents answered that they would be their plans after graduation. The objective was to as- willing to work in any sector as long as they found a sess their perceived opportunities in the labor mar- job. Within the remaining students, both girls and ket and their desire to look for work after gradua- boys revealed a distinct preference for public sector tion. The sample covered 518 students from 4 public employment. This is not surprising, as government community colleges and 80 percent of the respon- employment is perceived as more stable and more dents were females. likely to include significant non-wage benefits such as benefits and pension. Amongst young women, When asked about their plans after graduation, preference for public sector jobs exceeded that of the vast majority of students, 72 percent, indicated young men by nearly 15 percentage points.3 A pos- an interest in finding a job and continuing their sible explanation is that the working hours, flexibility studies simultaneously. Male and female students and working environment of the public sector makes showed similar patterns with regards to their plans it more appealing to women given the social norms after graduation, only 2–3 percent of students in- about working hours, appropriate jobs, and because it dicated that they were not interested in looking allows them to better balance work and family roles. for work or continuing their studies. In their final year of education, 91 percent of the female survey This survey affirmed that the vast majority of young respondents expressed interest in joining the labor men and women planned to look for work after force upon graduating. Close to two thirds of stu- graduation. But the reality of the labor market re- dents aspired to further education, but on average, vealed in the high youth unemployment rates, espe- only 20–25 percent of community college gradu- cially for women, suggest that these aspirations are ates who successfully pass their final comprehensive held in check by significant barriers to entry into the examination have the opportunity to move on to working world. 3 47 percent of females strictly prefer the public sector, com- pared to only 32 percent of males. Jordan Now: A Pilot Designed to Understand the Effectiveness of 2 Employability-Skills Training and Job Vouchers Pilot Design: Interventions man et al., 2006). Interventions that aim to teach employability skills may enhance employment pros- Launched in August 2010, the primary objective pects by giving youth better skills and confidence for of the Jordan New work Opportunities for Women looking for jobs and by making them more produc- (Jordan NOW) pilot was to increase female labor tive in their first months in the job by reducing the force participation amongst community college amount of time firms need to spend training them graduates by reducing the initial barriers to entry on the basics of working in a business environment. into the labor market. While there is little empirical evidence on the effec- Under the patronage of H.E. Queen Rania Al Abdul- tiveness of soft skills training programs, youth em- lah, Jordan NOW was designed by the World Bank ployment programs in Latin America in particular in consultation with its principal counterpart, the have increasingly included a component that focuses Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. on these skills (World Bank, 2010). For example, the For guidance and oversight, a Steering Committee entra 21 program implemented in 18 Latin American comprising of members from the Ministries of Labor, countries includes a soft skills training component. Higher Education, and Planning and International Although there is no rigorous evaluation of this inter- Cooperation, Department of Statistics, Jordanian vention, employers report that participants who took National Commission for Women was formed and part in this program have greater ability to work in provided valuable inputs throughout the design and teams and take on responsibility than do their other implementation process. The President of Al-Balqa employees (entra 21, 2009). The Dominican Repub- Applied University and the Offices of the Deans of all lic’s Juventud y Empleo program also teaches soft skills participating community colleges provided extensive along with providing work experience. and critical support during implementation. The second intervention, job vouchers, provided a The pilot involved two major interventions: em- short-term incentive payment or wage subsidy to ployability skills training and job vouchers. The first the employer if they hired a community college intervention consisted of employability skills train- graduate carrying a voucher. Wage subsidies have a ing which provided community college graduates long history of use by policy makers as part of their with training in interpersonal and professional skills active labor market policies to generate employment that employers look for when hiring new graduates. for the disadvantaged (e.g. Kaldor, 1936, Layard There is growing evidence that non-cognitive or soft and Nickell, 1980, and Katz, 1998). It is argued that skills are important for employment and a range of short-term subsidies may have long-term effects by other life outcomes (e.g. Bowles et al, 2001; Heck- raising the productivity of youth through work (Bell 9 10 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? et al., 1999), and may encourage employers to take pilot will also provide evidence on the effectiveness a chance on hiring inexperienced, untested workers of wage subsidies in a context where unemployment (World Bank, 2006). rates for young, educated women are very high. Wage subsidies or job vouchers have also long been Given this context and the paucity of evidence in used to help disadvantaged groups find jobs in de- the MENA region, the pilot was deliberately under- veloped countries, and there have several random- pinned by a rigorous experimental evaluation strat- ized experiments to measure their impacts in the egy, which makes it the first scientific evaluation of U.S. (Burtless, 1985; Dubin and Rivers, 1993), job vouchers and employability skills training in the which have found disappointing impacts. The au- MENA region, and one of very few in a developing thors attribute these effects to potential stigma ef- country context. fects: workers carrying the voucher or the subsidy were perceived as being of inferior quality precisely Through a combination of financial incentives and because they were selected for the subsidy. Several efforts to improve employability skills, the pilot non-experimental studies have found some positive aimed to: impacts (e.g. Katz, 1998), although an overview of different wage subsidy evaluations by Betcherman et 1. Improve information between firms and poten- al. (2004) concluded that such programs have large- tial workers ly not been effective in developed countries. 2. Provide the opportunity to build a positive work reputation for female graduates Wage subsidy programs for youth have been used 3. Subsidize on-the-job skills acquisition in a number of transition countries such as Poland 4. Change negative stereotypes among firms and and the Slovakia, and there appears to be renewed young women policy interest in developing countries, with exam- 5. Improve soft-skills and communication skills ples such as Morocco’s Idmaj program and Tunisia’s SIVP program,4 and South Africa about to launch a program. Despite this policy enthusiasm, there Selection Process is very little evidence on the effectiveness of such programs in developing countries, the one excep- The target group for this pilot was the entire 2010 tion being an experiment by Galasso et al. (2004) class of community college graduates from eight in Argentina. They found that job vouchers to the participating community colleges across Jordan unemployed lead to a 6 percentage point increase (Figure 18). The rationale for this spatial coverage in wage employment 18 months later, although was the following: a large bulk of private sector ac- this impact largely occurred in informal and tem- tivity is concentrated in-and-around Amman and porary jobs. therefore, the inclusion of 4 community colleges outside of Central Jordan along with 4 within, en- In these existing evaluations, the rather muted ef- sured that the pilot and the evaluation would cover fects have in part come from low usage rates of the regions with different economic characteristics, and job vouchers, preventing existing studies seeing measure spatially-differentiated impact. whether providing access to subsidized short-term employment can lead to lasting jobs. However, if 4 SIVP = Stage d’Initiation à la Vie Professionnelle. This is a voucher participation is relatively high, as we will subsidized internship where beneficiaries receive 150 TND show is the case in the Jordan NOW pilot, the eval- monthly and employers have full coverage of social security uation can potentially address the issue of whether and training costs. The subsidy targets recent university grad- voucher-linked subsidized short-term employment uates who have been looking for a job for six months, a group can lead to lasting jobs. Moreover, the results of the especially affected by unemployment (Almeida et al. 2012). A Pilot Designed to Understand the Effectiveness of Employability-Skills Training and Job Vouchers 11 Figure 18. Map of Jordan—Participating Community Colleges Al Huson University College of Engineering Irbid University Zarqa University College College Ajloun University College Al Salt University College Amman University College Princess Alia University Karak University College College Participants, i.e., all those who successfully passed strategy. If one were to offer training for instance, the August 2010 community college graduating ex- on a first-come-first-served basis, the graduates ams, were assigned into 4 groups: who choose to participate in training would likely be more motivated and differ in many other ways 1. Job vouchers only (Voucher group) from the graduates who didn’t choose to participate 2. Employability skills training only (Training in training. As a result, any comparison of the labor group) market outcomes of the two groups (those who took 3. Both vouchers and training (Voucher plus Train- part in training and those who didn’t) would not be ing group) able to tell whether the differences were due to dif- 4. No intervention (Control group) ferences between the graduates, or differences due to the interventions. In contrast, assignment via lottery Participants were assigned into each group by a lot- ensures that the characteristics of those graduates of- tery via a computer. Since resources for the pilot were fered the program are on average the same as those of limited, it was not possible to offer the interventions those who are not offered the program, because each to all graduates. Assigning participants to different graduate has an equal chance of being selected into groups by lottery therefore served as a fair and trans- each group. Thus, any difference in labor market parent way of giving each graduate an equal chance outcomes between the groups can be directly attrib- of being selected. The use of a lottery also allowed uted to the impact of the intervention rather than the pilot to be underpinned by a rigorous evaluation any differences in the groups. 12 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? As a result of this lottery, 300 graduates were as- Training signed to each of the first three groups: Voucher only, Training only and Voucher plus Training.5 The Employability skills training was provided by the remaining 450 were assigned to receive no interven- Business Development Center (BDC),6 a Jordani- tion. In order to ensure future comparisons between an NGO established in 2005 which has widespread groups are not biased, the lottery was designed to as- local name recognition and a good reputation for sign an equal proportion of graduates to each group skills training, having implemented USAID, UNC- who possessed the following characteristics: whether TAD, and a wide variety of local training programs they attended community college in Central Jordan (See Annex II for the Terms of Reference). The or outside, whether they scored above or below the employability-skills training course was conducted sample’s median Tawjihi score, whether they desire for 45 hours over a 9 day period (5 hours per day), to work and are optimistic about finding a job with- with a maximum of 30 participants in each train- in six months, and whether they are allowed to go to ing group. Training took place during September the market alone. and October 2010. Training sessions took place in 17 sessions offered throughout 6 governorates to maximize access (Table 4). Training facilities and Implementation of the Training and training content were identical across all 17 ses- Voucher Programs sions. To accommodate families’ concerns about girls having to travel far and to allow for flexible In preparation for project implementation, a series timings, multiple sessions were held during day- of outreach and information dissemination activi- light hours at locally known and trusted institu- ties were carried out to a pool of interested firms tions such as the Chambers of Commerce and In- and all eligible graduates. A Jordanian firm, Dajani dustry and local universities. Consulting, provided assistance to the implement- ing team by facilitating contact with the community The design of the training curriculum was carried out college administration to organize information ses- with close cooperation with the World Bank team sions to target each of the participating community and in consultation with private sector representa- colleges. At this session, graduates were given infor- tives. The curriculum covered in the training was mation about the pilot, informed about their selec- consistent across all training recipients, and included tion into various groups, and upon acceptance of employability as well as professional development the terms of the program, received letters confirm- skills. The course covered effective communication ing their eligibility to participate in the voucher and/ and business writing skills (e.g. making a presenta- or the training. At these sessions, graduates received tion, writing business reports, different types of cor- a fact sheet describing program features and general respondence), team-building and team work skills rules for the participation of firms and voucher and (e.g. characteristics of a successful team, how to work training letters (Annex II). in different roles within a team), time management, positive thinking and how to use this in business situ- At the same time, concerted efforts were made to create awareness among private sector firms about 5 This revealed that 1395 out of 1755 (79 percent) of the fe- the pilot. Through sessions organized by the Jor- male graduates interviewed at baseline passed their exami- danian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and nations, and 347 out of 427 (81 percent) of male graduates visits to many of their offices outside Amman, in- did. Given the small sample size of males, limited budget re- formational flyers and fact sheets were distributed. sources, and the focus of this pilot on alleviating constraints A newspaper advertisement ran in a local Jordanian to female employment, it was decided that the pilot should newspaper with wide readership twice to spread the focus only on the female community college graduates. word about the pilot (see Annex II). 6 http://www.bdc.org.jo/ A Pilot Designed to Understand the Effectiveness of Employability-Skills Training and Job Vouchers 13 Table 4.  Concurrent Sessions per Governorate and Completion Rates per Session Number of students Number of Governorate assigned Sessions Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Irbid 136 5 89% 97% 96% 90% 63% Amman 73 3 65% 80% 59%     Salt 75 3 90% 77% 43% Ajloun 62 2 75% 68%       Zarqa 67 2 89% 91% Karak 61 2 72% 69%       Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Administrative Records. ations, excellence in providing customer service, and members, family not allowing them to participate, C.V. and interviewing skills. Sessions were based on being pregnant, or other personal reasons. active participation and cooperative learning rather than lectures, with games, visual learning experienc- 96 percent of the participants who attended at least es, group exercises, and active demonstrations used to one session completed the training, which suggests teach and illustrate concepts. that among available graduates, very few viewed the training content to be irrelevant and unworthy of The cost of the training was approximately $150,000, their time. By and large, in 8 of the 17 concurrent which was based on up to 600 graduates attending— training sessions, 100 percent of participating trainees leading to a cost of $250 per assigned graduate, and successfully completed the training requirements and given that only 373 attended, an effective cost of received a completion certificate. As a quality check, $400 per attendee. BDC was required to assess training quality using anonymous feedback forms distributed to trainees at Participation rates in the training sessions of those the end of each module. The vast majority of partici- assigned to each session varied by location. Over- pants positively rated the training, and approximately all, participants from Irbid were the most likely to 90–95% rated each component as excellent. attend and complete the training, while trainees from Amman were among the least likely to attend, primarily because they found jobs and were not Vouchers allowed to leave during business hours (Table 5). Other reasons for non-attendance were a range of Graduates who were selected into the Voucher group family-related reasons such as taking care of family or the Voucher plus Training group were given a Table 5. Training Completion Conditional on Attending at Least One Session Governorate Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Irbid 100% 100% 100% 96% 94% Amman 100% 91% 100% Salt 100% 96% 86%     Ajloun 100% 88% Zarqa 97% 100%       Karak 88% 91%       Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Administrative Records. 14 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? non-transferable job voucher with their name on it, To be eligible to use the voucher, a firm had to pro- which they could present to a firm while searching vide proof of registration, have a bank account to for a job. receive payment and provide an offer letter with the graduate’s name and specification of work duties. The voucher was valid for a maximum of six months The salary offered had to be at least the minimum within an eleven month period starting October 3, wage of 150 JD per month.7 After the start of em- 2010 and ending August 31, 2011. Should employ- ployment, both the firm and graduate were required ment terminate before the end of the 6 months, the to confirm their employment with the program ad- voucher remained with the graduate, who could ministrator each month, with periodic monitoring then use the remaining months on it with a dif- and random visits made to ensure reimbursement ferent firm. The program was advertised through claims were legitimate. the Chamber of Commerce, newspapers, official government website, and information helpline in The vouchers were administered by a Jordanian order to further the legitimacy of the voucher and firm, Dajani Consulting, through a Management provide more information to the firms as needed. Information System that tracked, updated and In addition, graduates were given formal letters ex- provided monthly progress reports on voucher re- plaining the program, which they could present to cipients and the firms that hired voucher holders. firms to explain how these vouchers could be used. As voucher administrators, they were responsible for managing the fund for payments to firms un- Due to budget constraints, a maximum of 450 der the job voucher component; for supervision of graduates could be funded for the full voucher dura- this fund; and for reimbursement of voucher funds tion of 6 months each. The 600 graduates assigned to employers upon stringent verification of eligibil- to the Voucher and Voucher plus Training groups ity criteria and employment contracts. A detailed were therefore informed that vouchers would be Terms of Reference for managing the voucher fund honored on a first-come-first-served basis and that and developing an MIS for the pilot is attached in they should therefore make every effort to use their Annex II. Furthermore, Dajani Consulting con- vouchers as soon as possible to find a job. In case of ducted the baseline survey in August 2010 and fol- the 450 voucher limit being reached, the graduates low up surveys in April and December 2011 (with would be informed, but in practice, this limit was 93 and 96 percent success rate, respectfully) to mea- never reached. sure the participants’ employment outcomes. 7 At the time the vouchers were valid, Jordan’s minimum wage was set at 150 JD. As of 1 February 2012, the mini- mum wage has increased to 190 JD. 3 A Profile of Jordan NOW Participants A fter holding several consultations with col- Almost 90 percent of boys and girls interviewed said lege administrators, survey firms, and com- they wanted to look for work after graduation (Fig- munity college students, the decision was ure 19). When asked about their preferred sector made to hold the baseline survey on the college cam- of employment, almost 70 percent of young men puses during the week of the comprehensive exami- and more than 80 percent of young women stated a nation taking place in August 2010. Due to the short preference for the public sector over the private sec- 3-day horizon of the examination period, the base- tor (Figure 20). line was held concurrently in all 8 college campuses. With the cooperation of college staff and faculty, stu- Approximately 10 days after the baseline was con- dents completing their examinations were instructed ducted, the comprehensive exam scores were re- to proceed to designated halls, where they received leased. Out of a total of 2,182 respondents, the instructions from trained enumerators and filled out sample was restricted to only include 1,742 gradu- the self-reported questionnaires. To ensure that ques- ating students, while failing students were perma- tions were clearly translated and understood by re- nently dropped (Table 6). Given limited resources spondents, the survey was piloted a week in advance and an insufficient number of male graduates to es- with a group of first year, ineligible students. timate the impact separately for males, the decision was made to focus only on graduating females. Of Figure 19. Plans after Graduation Figure 20. Preferred Sector of Employment 100 90 80 90 70 80 60 70 50 60 40 50 30 40 20 30 10 20 0 10 Employment Continuing Studies Household Tasks, 0 Child Care and Other Private Sector Public Sector Female Male Female Male Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Baseline Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Baseline 15 16 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? the 1395 females who passed their examinations, survey—the vast majority look for work only after we randomly chose 1350 to be part of the pilot graduating. Finally, the baseline survey also shows group. high potential interest in both pilot interventions: approximately 75 percent of students say they are One of the key objectives of the lottery design was very interested in each program. to ensure that participants in each group were simi- lar in terms of their characteristics, for instance, average Tawjihi score, parents’ education and work Main Courses of Study and Most status, marital status, household assets, interest in Likely Occupations working and in participating in the program. As Table 7 shows, the characteristics of each group are The fields of study chosen by participants already indeed very similar. This is important in evaluating reflect the gendered labor market. A majority of the effects of the pilot interventions at a later stage, graduates study administration, education and as any observed differences can be clearly attributed nursing and pharmacy, which are considered to to the interventions rather than any pre-existing dif- be safer jobs and more appropriate for women. ferences in characteristics between groups. Table 8 shows the most common courses of study at the overall program of study level, as well as at What does a typical graduate in the pilot look like? both the program (department) and specialization She is 21 years old, unmarried, has never worked (major) level. The top three most popular depart- before, and has a Tawjihi score around 64. Across ments were (i) administration and finance, which the groups, approximately 43 percent of the partici- covers accounting, electronic administration, and pants come from Amman, Zarqa or Salt, are likely management information systems with 43 percent to have a car or computer at home, but have lim- of the sample (ii) medical assistance, which cov- ited access to the internet. Less than 8 percent of ers nursing and pharmacy specializations and (iii) participants reported their mothers working, while education which covers teaching. more than 50 percent have fathers working. Only one in two participants reported being able to go to These fields of study are mirrored in the types of the market alone, which points to the importance of occupations that the minority of graduates who had social restrictions on mobility, concerns about their already found jobs at the time of the baseline survey. safety, and their ability to travel unaccompanied. Of the 84 graduates who had already found work, Only 8 percent of students had already found a full- 39 were working as teachers, pharmacists, nurses time job after graduation at the time of the baseline and in administration. Table 6. Participating Community Colleges Community college Total Respondents Number of Passing Respondents Percent passing Al-Salt College 320 265 83% Al-Karak University College 213 203 95% Ajloun University College 289 223 77% Princess Alia University College 285 196 69% Amman University College 119 93 78% Al-Huson University College for Engineering 244 177 73% Irbid University College 429 361 84% Zarqa University College 283 224 79% Total 2182 1742 80% Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Administrative Records A Profile of Jordan NOW Participants 17 Table 7.  Comparison of Means of Baseline Characteristics by Treatment Group Voucher only Training only Voucher & training Control group Stratifying variables         In Amman, Salt, or Zarqa 0.43 0.44 0.43 0.44 Tawjihi score above median 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.55 Low desire to work full time 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 Is allowed to travel to the market alone 0.51 0.51 0.51 0.51 Other baseline variables         Age 21.20 21.10 21.10 21.30 Married 0.14 0.16 0.12 0.13 Mother currently works 0.07 0.06 0.08 0.06 Father currently works 0.59 0.61 0.57 0.53 Has previously worked 0.15 0.18 0.16 0.16 Has a job set up for after graduation 0.05 0.08 0.10 0.08 Has taken specialized English training 0.31 0.26 0.26 0.30 Household owns car 0.62 0.66 0.62 0.64 Household owns computer 0.72 0.75 0.74 0.70 Household has internet 0.28 0.18 0.26 0.26 Prefers government work to private 0.82 0.81 0.79 0.81 sector Sample size 299 300 299 449 Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Baseline. Note: The only statistically significant difference across groups is internet access which is significant at the 10% level. Given these courses of study, it is perhaps no sur- portant employer of nurses, teachers and adminis- prise that many graduates desire to work in the trators. Overall, 81 percent of graduates say they public sector given that the public sector is an im- think working for the government or public sector Table 8. Most Common Courses of Study for Pilot Sample Program (Department) code level %   Specialization (Major) level % The Administrative and Financial Program 43   Nursing 13 Program of Medical Assistance 24   Accounting 12 Educational Program 10   Electronic administration 12 Performing Arts Program 7   Management information systems 10 Social Action Program 6   Other – Educational programs 9 Information Management and Libraries Program 6   Pharmacy 5 Engineering Program 2   Interior design & graphic 5 Science Program of Sharia and Islamic Civilization 2   Special education 5 Hotels Program 1   Information technology 4 Agriculture Program 0   Accounting information systems 4 Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Baseline         18 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? is better than working for the private sector. This all they say they have quite high levels of confidence is highest for graduates in the program of medical about approaching employers they don’t know assistance (88 percent), but even for those in the ad- when looking for a job: 50 percent say they are very ministrative and financial program, 78 percent say confident in doing this, 39 percent somewhat con- they believe working for the government is better. fident and only 11 percent say they are not at all The main reasons given for preferring the public confident or that they would never do this. They sector are more stability (60 percent) and insurance also display the typical overconfidence when asked and collateral benefits (22 percent). Of the minority to assess themselves relative to other graduates: 83 who prefer the private sector, the number one rea- percent of graduates rank themselves as better than son is that they believe the salary is higher (given by average in terms of the overall value or benefit they 37 percent as the reason). Sixty percent of graduates would bring to an employer and 66 percent as bet- say that if they have the choice, they prefer to work ter than average in terms of their technical skills. In in a government position. contrast, the median graduate ranks herself as aver- age in terms of English language skills, reflecting less confidence in this dimension. Plans for Work and for Job-Seeking Despite the low-level of overall employment seen Empowerment and Traditional among young women in Jordan, the graduates in Attitudes the pilot baseline survey express high levels of desire to work. 93 percent say they plan to work after they One hypothesis for the low levels of female employ- graduate, 91 percent say they would like to work ment is that traditional gender norms limit the ex- outside the house after they are married, and 82 tent to which women work. It is therefore useful to percent say they think it is very likely or somewhat examine what the baseline survey reveals in terms of likely that they will have a job within 6 months of these attitudes. graduating. These rates are much higher than the re- ality for community college graduates: at any age, no First, the survey confirms young people desire to more than 40 percent of community college gradu- work; more than 90 percent of the graduates say they ates are employed. Most of those who plan to work plan on working full-time, although 27 percent say Table 9. Planned Job Search Strategies that if they find a job, they think they would work less than 6 hours per day. Which of the following do you plan to do when looking for a job? Yes % The median and modal income that they would ex- Asking family members if they know of job openings 87 pect to earn per month if they find a job is 250 JD. Ask friends if they know of job openings 84 Only 4 percent expect to earn less than the mini- Ask the career services at my school for advice 80 mum wage of 150 JD, and 12 percent expect to earn Register at a Government employment agency 81 exactly 150 JD. Only 44 percent know that the min- Look for a job with an employment agency which places 50 imum wage is 150 JD—26 percent believe it is lower people abroad than 150 JD, and 29 percent believe it is higher. Apply to job advertisements in the newspapers 68 Apply to job advertisements online 52 The graduates also say they plan to employ a num- Send my CV to companies I am interested in working for 71 ber of strategies to look for a job (Table 9), includ- Approach employers in person to see if they have 74 ing a number of quite proactive strategies such as openings approaching employers and sending their CV to Other 1 companies they are interested in working for. Over- Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Baseline. A Profile of Jordan NOW Participants 19 would like to work outside the home after marriage, educating girls. However, more traditional attitudes and they think they will be allowed to do so. More are seen in attitudes towards marriage and house- than three-quarters of the women believe that educa- work: 45 percent think that a 30 year-old woman tion is a means to increasing earnings or to find a bet- with a good job who is unmarried is to be pitied, ter job. Less than 4 percent of women link education and 44 percent think girls should obey their broth- to improved marriage prospects or say that working er’s opinion even if the brother is younger. would adversely influence their prospects of getting married. The community college graduates in the pilot have limited access to independent financial resources and Figure 21 examines the attitudes the female gradu- restricted mobility (Figure 22). Less than one in five ates have towards the role of women in society. graduates said that she had some money of her own Again, the majority believe women should be al- that she alone can decide how to use. About half the lowed to work outside the home, and that women graduates say that they are not permitted to travel should occupy leadership positions in society, and alone to the market, a government office, or to a few believe educating boys is more important that health center. Figure 21. Attitudes of Female Students Towards the Role of Women in Society Do you agree with the following statements? (% who agree) 100 80 60 40 20 0 Educating boys is A girl must obey A thirty year old woman Boys should do Women should occupy Women should be more important her brother's opinion who has a good job as much domestic leadership positions allowed to work than educating even if he's younger but is not yet married work as girls in society outside of the home girls than her is to be pitied Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Baseline. Figure 22. Restrictions on Mobility Are you permitted to go to these places alone, or only if someone accompanies you? 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Market Government O ce Health Center Relative's House Friend's House School/college Alone Not Alone Never Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Baseline. 4 Job Vouchers Boost Employment in the Short-Run I n April 2011, six months after the graduates the voucher but completed training. No one in the initially received their vouchers and/or attended Control group ended up getting either intervention. training, a mid-line survey was conducted to track implementation progress and assess early im- The employability skills training course was com- pacts while the job voucher usage window was still pleted by 62 percent of those assigned to the Train- open. The mid-line survey succeeded in re-inter- ing only group and the Voucher plus Training group. viewing 1,237 of the 1,347 (92 percent) graduates Only 5 students attended part of the course but did from the baseline. The survey monitored implemen- not finish. When graduates were directly asked their tation of the job vouchers, graduates’ self-assessment reasons for not wanting to attend, the main reasons of the employability-skills training program, their reasons for non-attendance, their current employ- ment status, job search strategies and the duration Figure 23. Treatment Take-Up of search, their wages and some indicators of em- powerment. Voucher Training Who Used the Vouchers? Who Completed Training? Figure 23 reveals the degree to which graduates who were assigned to a particular group actually used the opportunity. Of the 300 who were assigned to the Both Control Voucher only group, about half used the voucher in the sense that that they found a job using the vouch- er within 6 months of the beginning of the program. About 60 percent of graduates assigned to the Train- ing only group successfully completed the 9-day course. Among the 300 who were in the Voucher plus Training group, almost 40 percent completed training and got a job using the voucher. About 10 percent used the voucher to get a job but did not No voucher Used Attended Both used and complete training, and about 25 percent did not use or training voucher training attended Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Administrative Records. 21 22 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? they gave were because they already had a job (10 Figure 24. Training Components – Percent percent), and a range of family-related reasons such of Participants who Rated Good as taking care of family, or family not allowing them or Excellent to participate (Table 10). Qualitative feedback from participants immediately after the course was uni- C.V. Writing versally positive, with many participants in particu- Presentation Skills lar saying it had given them more confidence taught Interviewing Skills them practical topics not covered in college practi- Business Writing cal topics not taught in college. About 90 percent Positive Thinking of those who completed training said they would be Customer Service willing to pay the equivalent of a month’s minimum Communication Skills wage towards training. And each aspect of the train- Team Building ing course was rated as good or excellent by more 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.88 0.90 0.92 0.94 0.96 than 87 percent of participants (Figure 24). Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Midline. Who successfully completed the employability skills training course? Geographic location or the self-re- ported ability to travel to the market unaccompa- It is also interesting to note that graduates who could nied did not matter in determining who attended benefit from both vouchers and training were as like- and completed the course. This suggests that the ly to attend as those who received only training. This choice of trusted locations and offering multiple ses- suggests that participants valued both interventions. sions in many governorates was successful in reduc- ing geographical and mobility constraints that the Married graduates were much less likely to attend graduates may have faced. the employability skills training. After controlling for their expectations of working after graduation, Attendance rates were influenced by priors about their ability to move around, their financial inde- working full-time after graduation and by academic pendence, and household wealth status, graduates performance (Figure 25). For example, those who who were married at baseline were almost 20 per- did not expect to be working full-time after gradu- centage points less likely to attend. Attendance is ation were 10 percentage points less likely to attend significantly higher for those taking administrative training. On the other hand, those who had higher or financial courses, perhaps because they expect to than the median Tawjihi scores where 9 percentage points less likely to attend. These are reflective of the graduates’ implicit calculations of the costs and ben- Significant Characteristics of Figure 25.  efits of attending a two-week long training course Training Take-Up versus their prospects on the labor market. Has email Table 10. Reasons for Not Participating in In Administration/ Training Finance program Married at baseline Number of people No desire to Marriage, pregnancy, children 32 work full-time Working 60 Tawjihi score Out of the country 5 –0.20 –0.15 –0.10 –0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 Unavailable 106 Source: 2010 Jordan NOW Administrative Records. Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. Job Vouchers Boost Employment 23 Figure 26.  Significant Characteristics of tions. See Table 16 in Annex I for take-up regressions Voucher Take-Up on the voucher and training. In April 2011, 43 percent of the female graduates as- In Administration/ Finance program signed to the voucher had redeemed the voucher for Is allowed to travel to at least one month. By August 2011, this percentage the market alone rose to just about 50 percent. What happened to the In and around Amman women who were assigned to the voucher group and (Amman, Salt, Zarqa) never redeemed their voucher? 17 percent of these –0.20 –0.15 –0.10 –0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10 women were employed—over half of their employ- ers refused to deal with the formal requirements of Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. the voucher and the other half provided a variety of excuses ranging from forgetting to the employer be- ing a government agency to incongruous responses. be in more of a position to need business writing 63 percent were unemployed but actively looking skills than graduates going into nursing or teaching. for a job while 20 percent were unemployed and not looking for a job. Among the unemployed, only 58 Voucher use is equivalent to finding a job with an percent had previously tried to use their voucher. employer that met the voucher requirements and was Reasons for why the graduates couldn’t find jobs in- willing and able to use the voucher. In total 301 of the cluded lack of vacancies at many firms, firms’ mis- 600 graduates assigned to receive a voucher ended up trust of the voucher, or firms’ need for someone with using it for at least one month. However, voucher use specific skills that the graduates did not have. varied by location: 41 percent used the vouch in-and- around Amman compared to 57% outside of Am- The midline survey revealed broad compliance with man (Figure 26). 75 percent of those who used the the minimum wage requirement imposed by the voucher used it for the full 6 months, 9 percent used pilot. Nevertheless, an overwhelming number of it for 5 months, 6 percent for 4 months, and only voucher users received a salary equal to the mini- 10 percent for 3 months or fewer (Table 11). Unlike mum wage, which suggests that most employers attendance in the training program, being married were contributing nothing to these women’s salaries. at the time of the baseline did not influence the use 85 percent of those employed with a voucher said of the voucher. Women who stated that they could they earned 150 JD per month, 1.9 percent said that travel independently to the market, a proxy for great- they were paid less than this, and the highest earn- er mobility, were more likely to use the voucher. In ings reported were 320 JD per month. contrast to the impact on training take-up, graduates of administrative or financial courses are less likely to Midline data also revealed the close relation between use the voucher than graduates of other specializa- fields of study and the occupational distribution, which remains gendered. The most common occu- Voucher Use – October 2010 to August 2011 Table 11.  2010 2011 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Total # started voucher use 107 83 41 18 15 12 12 6 7 0 0 301 # terminated < 6 months 0 6 5 5 10 7 6 5 5 3 24 76 # completed full 6 months 0 0 0 0 0 74 67 37 21 15 11 225 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Administrative Records. 24 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? pations for those using the vouchers were teachers employment by 5 percentage points relative to the (often in nursery schools), comprising 33 percent control groupâ€? means that relative to the employ- of all those who had used the voucher; secretaries, ment rates among the group who did not receive clerks or administrative assistants, 17 percent; nurs- any intervention, the average employment rates es or medical assistants, 10 percent; data entry work- amongst those who were assigned to the voucher ers 9 percent; and pharmacists 8 percent. group were higher by 5 additional percent. These rates are then measured relative to the sub-popula- Location played an important role in the use of the tion that fell in each group, for instance, among all vouchers: in particular, 57 percent of the participants those who were assigned to the voucher group, the from Northern and Southern Jordan redeemed the percentage of graduates employed, irrespective of voucher whereas only 41 percent in Central Jordan whether they had used the voucher to get a job or (in and around Amman) redeemed the voucher. Of not. In any voluntary program, where not all those the people in the voucher group who were employed, who are eligible to benefit from an intervention ac- 90 percent of those outside Amman and 76 percent tively utilize the opportunity, the impacts measured of those in and around Amman used the voucher to over the entire eligible population give a measure of get their job. This could be a combination of a great- the program impact for other similar populations. er willingness to hire community college graduates These estimates are known in the econometrics lit- outside of Amman or a greater willingness of par- erature as “Intent-to-Treatâ€? estimates. ticipants outside Amman to look for work and use the voucher to get a job or it may reflect the greater number and diversity of jobs in and around an eco- Labor Market Outcomes nomic centre such as Amman that do not necessitate such an extensive use of the voucher subsidy. At the time the midline survey was conducted in April 2011, the voucher intervention was still active What do these participation rates—voucher use and and 194 graduates were still using the voucher on the training attendance—mean? Given that our pilot job. At this time, 74 graduates had completed the covered almost the entire 2010 cohort of female maximum 6 months allowed on their voucher. Con- public community college graduates in Jordan, if sidering that the pilot was still on-going, the results the pilot were scaled up, these rates of take-up for should be interpreted as the immediate, early effects each group would apply to the whole population of of the pilot interventions. Indeed, at midline, less female community college graduates that a given in- than a year after graduating from community college, tervention was offered to. Turning now to the labor labor force participation, defined as either working or market outcomes following the use of the training actively looking for work, remains high at around 77 or the voucher, the outcomes are measured against percent irrespective of training, voucher, or control all those who were assigned to a given intervention. group (Table 12). These are in line with the desires to For instance, the statement, “vouchers increased work expressed by pilot participants in the baseline. Table 12. Midline Labor Market Outcomes Employment Labor force participation Voucher Training Both Control Voucher Training Both Control Jordan 0.57 0.21 0.58 0.18 0.80 0.77 0.85 0.77 Karak, Ajloun, Hosun, and Irbid 0.60 0.12 0.64 0.10 0.82 0.77 0.87 0.73 Amman, Salt, and Zarqa 0.54 0.32 0.51 0.28 0.78 0.78 0.83 0.83 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Midline. Job Vouchers Boost Employment 25 In the short term, overall, the job voucher strong- Table 13. Employment Rates during ly improved employment outcomes, measured as Voucher Validity whether an individual was currently employed or Employment had worked for cash in the last month (Table 12). rates Voucher Training Both Control Total However, employability skills training had a negli- Midline employment 0.57 0.21 0.58 0.18 0.36 gible impact on employment at midline. While the rates: Jordan NOW correlation between training and all employment # Employed: 172 63 175 71 481 outcomes was positive, the measured effect was too Jordan NOW small to say with certainty whether there was any Employment rates within one year: JLMPS 0.22 impact at all. Combining training with vouchers re- Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Midline and 2010 JLMPS. sulted in no additional employment either. The immediate employment effects of the job vouch- would have been in the absence of a voucher (Table er were substantial: access to a voucher increased 13). Overall employment rates for pilot participants employment from 18 percent to 57 percent. That is were 36 percent: one in three participants in the to say that compared to average employment rates pilot was employed six months after the launch of of 18 percent among those in the control group, the program. While those who held vouchers were those who were assigned to the Voucher or Voucher much more likely to have jobs, there is some indi- plus Training group had employment rates that were cation of an increase in net employment while the almost 40 percentage points higher, or more than vouchers were valid. On average, of female commu- triple the employment rate. See Table 17 in Annex I nity college graduates surveyed in the JLMPS 2010, for regressions on a series of employment outcomes. only 22 percent found a job within a year. Contrast this with pilot participants, who on average, were 14 The impacts of the job voucher were very different percentage points more likely to hold a job. in and around Amman as compared to outside of Amman. Consistent with the much lower use of the Another measure in the survey is formal employ- voucher in and around Amman relative to outside ment, defined as whether individuals report being of Amman, the voucher had much larger impacts employed and registered for social security. The on midline employment outside of Amman. Gradu- midline survey suggests very little increase in formal ates assigned to receive the voucher outside Amman employment through the vouchers, which register experienced a 50.4 percentage point increase in the only an additional 4.5 percentage point increase. likelihood of being employed at midline, compared And, when cross-referenced with social security ad- to a 25 percentage point increase in Amman. Given ministrative data, there is no significant increase in the control group had much lower employment employment. This suggests that very few employers rates outside of Amman, this is equivalent to the hiring graduates on the voucher reported their em- job voucher group having six times the employment ployment to the Social Security Corporation (SSC). rate of the control group outside Amman, and dou- ble the employment rate in Amman. See Table 18 The midline survey also examined the intensity of in Annex I for the regression table illustrating these work (weekly hours worked) and wage earnings. heterogeneous impacts. Hours worked are significantly higher for the job voucher group at midline. Compared to an average There is evidence that while the vouchers were valid, of 6 hours worked per week for the control group, average employment rates for a pilot participants graduates who were assigned vouchers worked more (including the control group) were higher than they than three times the number of hours. 5 What Happened After the Program Ended? I n December 2011, 4 months after the voucher assigned to receive job vouchers were on the other period expired and the pilot concluded, a more hand, much more likely to continue to be looking for extensive endline survey was conducted, with work, at rates that were 10 percentage points higher concerted efforts to track down graduates. Of the ap- than the control group (Figure 27). Training also may proximately 1350 graduates in the full pilot, almost have had a positive impact on labor force participa- 1250 were re-interviewed (93 percent), and data was tion but its effect is not strong enough to detect. This collected by proxy from 38 graduates’ parents (3 per- overall increase in labor force participation among the cent) when the graduates were not available or out of voucher group comes predominantly from those out- the country. In addition to data on employment out- side of Amman, where the increase is 17.6 percentage comes, the survey collected information on a range points relative to almost no increase in and around of well-being measures, including mental health, Amman. This is explained by the much higher rates subjective well-being, and empowerment. of labor force participation among the control group in and around Amman, where job opportunities are In addition to the survey, an agreement with the So- more plentiful. See Table 19 in Annex 1 for regres- cial Security Corporation of Jordan enabled us to sions on a series of employment outcomes. obtain administrative data on formal employment for 1282 graduates (95 percent of the sample), for whom we had a social security number. Finally, we also supplement our analysis with data taken from Figure 27. Labor Force Participation at an October 2011 survey of 368 of the firms who had Midline and Endline employed these graduates at the midline (whether or not they had used the voucher to do so), which 0.9 is approximately 100 percent of all firms who were 0.8 employing a graduate with a voucher and more than 0.7 0.6 65 percent of all firms who were employing a gradu- 0.5 ate without a voucher. 0.4 0.3 0.2 While at midline, all groups in the pilot had very 0.1 similar and high rates of labor force participation, 0.0 Midline LFP Endline LFP by the time of the endline survey, labor force par- ticipation among the control group had fallen to 48 Voucher Training Both Control percent, reflecting that many graduates had stopped actively looking for work. Graduates who had been Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Midline and Endline. 27 28 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Figure 28. Employment Rates at Midline rates of only 11 percent of the control group outside and Endline Amman at endline, job vouchers increased employ- ment rates by 8.5 percentage points while training 0.7 increased employment by 6.1 percentage points. 0.6 In Amman on the other hand, there appear to be 0.5 0.4 no significant effects of either vouchers or training 0.3 on employment. Similarly, in contrast with the ob- 0.2 served higher rates of unemployment for the train- 0.1 0.0 ing and control group at midline, by the time of the Voucher Training Both Control endline survey, all groups had converged to similar rates of unemployment at above 50 percent (Figure Midline unemployment Endline unemployment 29). See Table 20 in Annex I for the regression table Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Midline. revealing the heterogeneity of impact. Turning now to those individuals who report be- ing employed and were registered formally with the Unemployment Rates at Figure 29.  social security system, we find no effects of either Midline and Endline training or vouchers. On average, only half of those who report being employed are in fact registered 0.9 with social security, a mere 12.6 percent. 0.8 0.7 0.6 Although the employment effects observed at mid- 0.5 0.4 line do not persist once the pilot ended, the job 0.3 voucher group did indeed gain labor market experi- 0.2 ence as result of having had worked. This group is 0.1 0.0 almost 30 percentage points more likely to have ever Voucher Training Both Control worked than the control group at endline, and have accumulated an average of 2.4 months more job Midline unemployment Endline unemployment experience. Moreover, conditional on having had Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. a job, graduates assigned to the job voucher group report statistically higher levels of job satisfaction. Despite this positive impact on job search, em- Jobs can be more than just a source of income, with ployment impacts of the voucher do not persist at employment status associated with improved sub- endline. Neither voucher nor training have an over- jective well-being and increases in female empow- all positive impact on employment rates once the erment (World Bank, 2011, 2012). In Table 6 we voucher period expired (Figure 28). Neither is there examine the impacts of the interventions on differ- any impact on hours worked or earnings from work. ent measures of well-being, empowerment, and atti- But this overall negligible employment effect is driv- tudes, all measured at the time of the endline survey. en by differences in impact by location. At endline, vouchers continued to have a significant positive im- Job vouchers improved graduates subjective-wellbe- pact on employment outside Amman even once the ing as measured on the Cantril self-anchoring striv- subsidy period had finished. Moreover, there is also ing scale (Cantril, 1965), a measure that has been some evidence that the employability skills training used by Gallup around the world. Respondents are had a positive employment effect at endline outside asked to imagine a ladder with 11 rungs, number Amman. Compared with the very low employment from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top, where the What Happened After the Program Ended? 29 top represents the best possible life for them, and off, several studies have used a cutoff of less than 17 the bottom the worst possible life. Kahneman and as an indicator of major depression (e.g. Urban In- Deaton (2010) refer to this as “life evaluationâ€?. On stitute, 1999; Yamazaki et al., 2005). Based on this average, the control group put themselves on the 5th cutoff, 20 percent of the control group would be rung, but those who were assigned to the voucher classified as depressed. In contrast, the training in- group placed themselves almost a rung higher. tervention increases graduates scores on the MHI-5 While training may have improved perceptions of by 0.58, and reduces the likelihood of having major well-being, its impact is too small to pick up. depression by almost 5 percentage points. Graduates were also asked to assess which step on Have these changes in subjective well-being also the Cantril ladder they believe they will be on in brought about changes in attitudes towards women’s five years time, with this forward-looking measure role in home and society, and changes in empow- reflecting the degree of optimism they have about erment and mobility? We find that there is no sig- their futures. Overall all the graduates show a high nificant impact on these attitudes towards the role degree of optimism, imagining themselves on the 8th of women and measures of empowerment, which is rung, three rungs higher than they assess their cur- not wholly surprising given that norms and attitudes rent position to be. are slow to change. See Table 21 for the regression table of subjective well-being outcomes. Consistent with the qualitative feedback following the completion of training, where many participants Endline data also reveals a strong association be- reported that it had helped them build confidence, tween getting married and not working, although and strong positive attitudes, training also seems these are not at all affected by the pilot interven- to improve mental health measures.8 We measure tions. While at baseline only 13.7 percent of the mental health using the Mental Health Inventory sample was married, this had increased to 31.6 (MHI-5) of Veit and Ware (1983). This is a five item percent by the endline, 18 months later, with a scale with a maximum score of 25 and minimum further 9.4 percent engaged at endline, only 9.6 score of 5, with higher scores indicating better men- percent of married graduates in our sample are tal health in terms of the experience of psychological working at endline, while 29.9 percent and 32.5 well-being and the absence of psychological distress percent of engaged and single women, respectively, in the past month. While there is no universal cut- are working. 8 Mental health is a distinct concept of well-being and hap- piness, and it has been shown to have different associations with individual characteristics and with life events (Das et al, 2008). 6 What Have We Learnt? T he evaluation of the Jordan NOW pilot in- strongly agreed with one of the following statements: dicates that job vouchers led to a large in- “men can work longer and flexible hoursâ€?, “young crease in employment mainly in the infor- men are more productive than young womenâ€? and mal sector while the voucher was valid, but had little “the extra costs of female facilities are prohibitive to effect on employment once the vouchers expired. hiring womenâ€?. Some firms were candid in revealing The impact of the voucher was much greater out- explicit gender norms. 30 percent of firms openly side Amman. Likewise, there’s suggestive evidence state a preference for hiring men over women. 21 that the training also had a larger impact outside of percent of firms agreed or strongly agreed with one of Amman. the following statements: “mixing women and men together at work is inappropriateâ€?, “females are only In order to understand the demand side of the mar- looking for short-term work since they don’t have ket and the labor market conditions faced by young career ambitionsâ€?, and “they did not want to hire entrants in Jordan, a survey of over 2000 firms in and women because they don’t have career ambitionsâ€?. around Amman who stated they were willing to hire fresh graduates was conducted in September 2011. Given this backdrop, in this section we explore pos- Of the firms surveyed, 82 percent said they needed sible mechanisms that might explain the results of fresh graduates and 62 percent had in fact hired a the Jordan NOW evaluation. fresh graduate in the past. However, about half of all firms said that these young graduates did not have the experience necessary for the job and that they Are Temporary Impacts due to the Job found it difficult to find employees who understood Voucher Groups Losing Jobs or the the concept of work ethic. As a result, more than 40 Other Groups Gaining Them? percent of these firms preferred to hire people with one or two years of experience rather than a fresh Figure 30, Figure 31 and Figure 32 use information graduate. Social and business networks are critical from the surveys on the start and end dates of em- for employers to fill vacancies: 58 percent of firms ployment to construct and plot monthly employ- most commonly used referrals from friends, family, ment rates for each group to graphically illustrate and business networks to identify suitable candidates. the employment impacts of the pilot interventions over time. We see the voucher only and voucher plus Turning to employer’s attitudes about hiring young training lines track each other, rising rapidly at first, women, many employers perceived women as be- and then falling as the graduates hit the six month ing relatively costly or less productive compared limits on use of these vouchers. The rise is steeper with male employees. 63 percent of firms agreed or outside of Amman. 31 32 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Figure 30. Proportion Employed by Month The difference in control group behavior inside Am- Jordan man versus outside is also noticeable—employment rates continue to rise over time inside Amman, but 0.6 level off at 11 percent outside Amman and hover 0.5 around this rate for at least one year. However, the 0.4 positive employment effects outside of Amman Employment 0.3 should be interpreted with caution: there is some 0.2 suggestive evidence that voucher recipients displaced 0.1 those without vouchers outside of Amman, where 0.0 job opportunities are relatively limited. Compared Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Oct-11 Nov-11 Dec-11 Jan-12 with employment rates from recent labor force sur- vey data (EUS 2007–2010), graduates outside Am- Voucher Training Both Control man in the control group appear to have been hired Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. at relatively lower rates. Figure 31. Proportion Employed by Month One potential explanation for the short-term im- Central Jordan (in and around pact of the job vouchers could be that they speeded Amman) up the process of finding a job, with the training and control groups then managing to find jobs and 0.6 catch up to the employment rates of the voucher 0.5 groups by the endline survey. An alternative expla- 0.4 nation is that the reduced impact is coming from Employment 0.3 those who were employed losing their jobs when 0.2 the vouchers ended. To distinguish between these 0.1 explanations, in Table 14 we explore the employ- 0.0 ment dynamics, examining the transition for em- Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Oct-11 Nov-11 Dec-11 Jan-12 ployment and unemployment outcomes between the midline and the endline. We take an example Voucher Training Both Control to explain the table: Looking at the last 4 cells in Panel A relating to the control group: 70 percent of Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. the control group remained unemployed at midline and endline, 11 percent were employed at midline Figure 32. Proportion Employed by Month and kept their jobs at endline. On the other hand, Northern and Southern Jordan 12.2 percent of those in the control group were un- (outside Amman) employed at midline but had found jobs by endline, while 6.6 percent of those with jobs at midline had 0.6 lost them by the endline survey. 0.5 0.4 Employment This table shows that the convergence in employ- 0.3 ment rates by the endline is driven in part by the 0.2 control and training groups being more likely to 0.1 transition from unemployment into employment, 0.0 but the majority is due to the voucher and voucher Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Oct-11 Nov-11 Dec-11 Jan-12 and training groups being much more likely to Voucher Training Both Control transition out of employment. For the full sample, 12 percent of the control group and 13 percent of Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. the training group found jobs between the midline What Have We Learnt? 33 Table 14. Employment Transitions (Percentage Transitioning from One State to Another between Survey Rounds) Voucher Only Training Only Voucher & Training Control Group Endline Endline Endline Endline Endline Endline Endline Endline unemp. employ. unemp. employ. unemp. employ. unemp. employ. Panel A: Entire sample                 Midline unemployed 37.5 5.2 66.1 13.3 37.1 4.7 70.4 12.2 Midline employed 36.8 20.5 8.1 12.6 37.8 20.5 6.6 10.9 Sample size 288 278 271 395 Panel B: Amman, Salt and Zarqa Midline unemployed 36.8 9.6 50.8 17.5 41.9 7.3 52.1 20.4 Midline employed 28.0 25.6 13.3 18.3 25.8 25.0 7.8 19.8 Sample size 125 120 124 167 Panel C: Outside Greater Amman Midline unemployed 38.0 1.8 78.2 9.9 33.1 2.6 83.8 6.1 Midline employed 43.6 16.6 4.0 8.0 47.4 16.9 5.7 4.4 Sample size 163 151 154 228 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Midline and Endline. and endline surveys, compared to only 5 percent of owners wanting to lower their wages once the sub- the voucher and voucher and training groups. But sidy ended. approximately 38 percent of the voucher and train- ing plus voucher groups lost their jobs between Taken together, these indicate that the subsidy pro- midline and endline, compared to only 7–8 per- vided through the voucher was vital in getting these cent of the control and training only groups. Thus, graduates a job, and that in its absence, many em- voucher group graduates losing their jobs accounts ployers no longer found it worthwhile to continue for approximately 80 percent of the closing of the to hire these graduates at the same wage. Among gap in employment rates between voucher and the those who remained in the job, there are only 5 cas- other groups, and catch-up of those newly getting es where the midline wage was 150 JD and the end- jobs accounts for approximately 20 percent of the line wage less than this (mean of 98 JD), but more gap. This basic pattern holds both inside and out- cases where the midline wage was above 150 JD but side Amman. has since been lowered (e.g. from 220 JD at midline to 150 JD at endline). Only 2 percent of the job The endline survey directly asked graduates who had losses were for other employer-related reasons such been employed with vouchers but who were no lon- as the employer firing the graduate or the employer ger in these jobs what the main reason for stopping going bankrupt, while 18 percent were because the work was. The most common reason was that the graduates were not satisfied with some aspect of the job ended because the voucher had finished or the job and 9 percent claimed to quit for family reasons. job was temporary in nature i.e. the job was contin- gent on the voucher—this accounted for approxi- When the same question was asked of firms which mately 66 percent of the job exits for jobs obtained had hired graduates with the vouchers, but no lon- through the voucher. 4 percent of the cases explicitly ger employed this worker as of November 2011, state they quit because of salary disputes, with firm firm owners said that in 51 percent of the cases it 34 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Figure 33. Reasons Why Voucher Graduates the worker (whom they eventually fired) irrespective Were No Longer Employed after of whether they had the job voucher. The main rea- The Voucher Expired sons that they hired workers with the voucher were to train and test them risk free (40 percent), and Other to have an extra employee at low cost (32 percent). 7% This suggests that the voucher did provide an op- Fired 10% portunity at least for some employers to screen and Una ordable try out young graduates with minimal investment without subsidy Quit and got 51% on their part. married or gave birth 11% Overall, 62 percent of firms who employed voucher users said that they would not have hired them in the absence of the voucher subsidy (Fig- Quit and found ure 34). Of these firms who would not have hired another job 21% the graduate, more than 60 percent stated that it was because the graduates were too expensive Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. without the subsidy. And more than 50 percent of the firms said they would have hired the graduate as long as the voucher subsidy was at least 50 JD. was because the worker was unaffordable without These suggest that the employers did not value the the subsidy, 10 percent because they had fired the productivity of these graduates highly enough to worker, 30 percent because the worker had quit ei- continue to hire them in the absence of any sub- ther to get another job, or to get married, and 7 per- sidy. More than half of these firms said that they cent other reasons (Figure 33). 42 percent of firms had no need for the graduate, suggesting these in Amman said the reason for the termination of the jobs were purely temporary. employment relationship was the graduate quitting, as compared to only 30 percent of firms outside of Thus, this evidence suggests that the main reason Amman. On the other hand, firms in Amman were that the impact of the voucher was mostly tem- less likely to say the reason was that the worker was porary was that the hard cash of the wage subsidy unaffordable without the subsidy. In only 36 percent induced firms to take a chance on hiring workers of the cases, firm owners say they would have hired they wouldn’t have otherwise hired, and that these 62 Percent of Firms Would Not have Hired the Graduate in the Absence of the Figure 34.  Voucher 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 Firm wouldn't have Firm wouldn't have If voucher was only Firm wouldn't have Firm wouldn't have hired because it hired because there 50 JD, would have hired because there hired because it's prefers males was someone else still have hired was no need too expensive Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Firm Survey. What Have We Learnt? 35 workers then either proved not to be productive Did the Interventions Just Change enough to earn the wages they would need to be Who Got the Jobs or Actually Create paid, or that ex post, these workers decided that the characteristics of the job were not a good match New Jobs? for them. A common concern with many active labor market There are two other reasons why the vouchers may policy experiments is the possibility that the jobs cre- not have had longer term effects. First, one goal of ated for the group receiving the intervention were in the voucher was to induce employers who had not fact at the expense of some other group. In the con- hired women before to give them a chance, thereby text of the Jordan pilot, there are two elements of this overcoming prejudice and giving the graduates a concern. The first is a concern that the voucher, and chance to prove they could be productive. However, perhaps training, groups gained jobs at the expense almost all of the voucher recipients were employed of the control group, so that there is no net increase in typically female-dominated occupations (such as in employment, just a reallocation within the pilot nurses, nursery school teachers, or clerks), so that of who gets the jobs. If this were the case, while our these firms did not really gain any new informa- pilot would still give a valid estimate of the impact of tion about the productivity of women whom they giving vouchers to some youth and not others, it is typically hire. Secondly, schools and hospitals may difficult to predict what would happen if the vouch- find it harder to generate additional profits out of ers were expanded to a larger group of beneficiaries. new workers than other high growth sectors of the A second, related, concern is whether the jobs gained economy (e.g. because they have less control over by the community college graduates are coming at pricing), so even productive workers may be diffi- the expense of other workers outside of the pilot sam- cult for these firms to finance. ple who would otherwise have been hired. For ex- ample, the vouchers may induce firms to hire youth The aspect of the labor market that this pilot does instead of an unemployed older worker. If this were not explicitly address is the demand for labor and the case, the pilot would still show that these policies job creation through the private sector. But the anal- help the targeted group obtain jobs, but not whether ysis does indirectly suggest that there were a lot of these come at the expense of other groups in society. people chasing a few jobs in the sectors where young female community college graduates are typically We use a mixture of evidence to assess how impor- employed. It remains an open question whether the tant these effects are likely to have been. We note first gendered fields of study restrict the occupational that the fact that most of the employment effect was choices of these young women into already over- temporary, and came from firms saying they hired supplied, slow growing sectors with little scope for the job voucher workers when they wouldn’t have job creation. Or, it may be the case that the econo- hired them in the absence of the voucher suggests my as a whole is not diversified enough to create em- that most of the short-lived effect is additional (tem- ployment opportunities to pull women into other porary) hires, rather than firms substituting hires economic sectors. Each of these factors may in turn they would have made anyway. Second, we do not reinforce the other, with women’s lack of appropri- see firms who let go of the job voucher workers sub- ate skills leading to few employers outside schools sequently hiring a control group or training group and nurseries being willing to hire women, who in worker to replace them: there are only 12 firms in turn continue to continue to study to become teach- our firm survey that hired graduates from both the ers and nurses. Within this narrow spectrum of oc- voucher and from either the control or training only cupations, what the data can tell us is whether the groups (almost all hospitals hiring nurses), and all pilot created any new jobs or if it resulted in a sub- of these were cases of concurrent hires rather than stitution of jobs in favor of those who were carrying terminating a voucher student and replacing them the voucher. with one of the other group students. 36 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? However, our pilot worked with approximately 80 control group appear to have not been hired at the percent of females graduating from public commu- same rates that recent years would suggest, or at the nity colleges in Jordan in 2010, and thus if there are rate that one would predict given the employment a limited number of jobs that these graduates are rate of the control group in Amman. competing for, it seems plausible that they are likely to have been competing for some of the same jobs, The main occupations for graduates employed out- resulting in displacement effects. Indeed, when the side Amman at the endline are teacher (23 percent), graduates were asked in the endline survey whether nurse (19 percent), pharmacist (16 percent), and they think the voucher prevented women without clerk (11 percent). The labor market outside Amman vouchers from getting jobs because employers would in most of these occupations is likely to be relatively only hire workers with vouchers, 12 percent of the thin, with a limited number of openings for new control group in Amman, and 24 percent of the graduates each year. It does therefore seem reasonable control group outside Amman agreed. This shows that graduates may have been competing for some of that in a context where female community college the same jobs, and that, in addition to the temporary graduates compete for jobs within a very narrow la- additional hires firms made using the vouchers, they bor market, the control group graduates themselves chose voucher or training graduates over the control think there is some displacement. group for positions they were planning on hiring anyway. As a result, the employment effects seen in Further evidence on this displacement comes from the endline outside of Amman are likely to reflect looking at the employment rates in other recent largely displacement, rather than added employment. years. Table 15 uses the 2007 to 2010 Jordanian Employment and Unemployment Surveys to report the employment rates and labor force participation Are Labor Laws Partly Responsible rates of intermediate diploma students (the group for the Temporary Nature of the Job? community college students fall into), and com- pares these to our endline employment rates. We Article 35 of Jordan’s labor law specifies a 3 month see that the employment rate in central Jordan (in probationary period, during which an employer can or around Amman) for our control group is simi- terminate a worker without notification or termi- lar to that of community college graduates in recent nation remuneration. After this period, employers years, whereas that outside Amman is lower. Taking are required to give one month’s notification, and the difference between the two locations, we see the remunerate workers one month per year of service Amman versus outside Amman employment gap for on a pro-rated basis upon termination. The length the control group is more than double in our sample of the job voucher period was set at 6 months with than it is in recent survey years. Coupled with the this 3 month rule in mind, the idea being that the direct evidence from graduates, this suggests a dis- six month subsidy may induce them to hire gradu- placement effect—graduates outside Amman in the ates beyond the three month probation period and Table 15. Employment Rates of 20–25 Year Old Female Community College Graduates   2007 2008 2009 2010 Control group Voucher group Training only Central Jordan 31 32 31 29 40 34 36 Northern and Southern Jordan 19 19 20 18 11 19 16 Difference 13 13 11 11 29 15 20 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline and 2007–2010 Employment Unemployment Surveys *This table represents employment rates of 20–25 year old females with intermediate diplomas. Survey standard error is approximately 2 percentage points on sample means. Voucher group includes voucher only and voucher plus training group. What Have We Learnt? 37 thereby bring graduates into the formal employment Less than 8 percent of graduates employed in both system. We see that in practice this did not occur— these groups were hired at less than the minimum most of the added employment was not registered wage. However, where the minimum wage was not for social security, while 95 percent of the vouchers made a pre-condition for employment (for instance, that were redeemed were used beyond three months. for the training and control groups), a higher pro- The threat of being subject to labor regulations in portion of graduates who were employed were hired the future may still deter firms from keeping youth at less than the minimum wage. For those in the employed for long periods, but this was not some- training group who were employed at midline, for thing that came out in the firm surveys. In prac- instance, only 26 percent were hired at the mini- tice, since firms were able to successfully avoid these mum wage and 33 percent were hired at a wage be- regulations, these labor laws were not binding as a low 150 JD. Similarly, for those with jobs at midline constraint to continue to hire the voucher gradu- from the control group, 23 percent were hired at ex- ates. Had they registered these workers as formally actly 150 JD and 44 percent were hired at less than employed, employers would have to pay social secu- the minimum wage. Figure 35 and Figure 36 show rity taxes (12.25 percent of wages) and payroll taxes the distribution of wages across each of the groups (7 percent of wages), which together add 20 percent in the pilot at midline and endline. to the cost of employing a worker. This added fi- nancial burden to the employer is acting as a huge Compared to midline, at endline, after the vouch- disincentive to formalize employment. ers had expired, only between 22 and 26 percent of those employed in each group were hired at a Jordan also has a universal minimum wage, which wage of 150 JD. And a larger proportion of those was set at 150 JD during the duration of the pilot. It employed were hired at wages below the minimum changed to 190 JD in February 2012, two months wage: among the voucher and the voucher plus after the conclusion of all data collection. 75 per- training groups, the proportion of those employed cent of the graduates employed with the voucher at below the minimum wage jumped to more than and 74 percent of the graduates employed who re- 20 percent (compared to less than 8 percent at mid- ceived both vouchers and training at the midline line). More than 25 percent of those employed who were hired at a wage of exactly 150 JD per month— were in the training and control groups earned less which was the minimum permitted by the program. than 150 JD. Figure 35. Midline – Distribution of Wages Figure 36. Endline – Distribution of Wages (Jd) (Jd) 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 1–50 51–100 101–149 150 151–200 201–250 251–300 301–350 1–50 51–100 101–149 150 151–200 201–250 251–300 301–350 Voucher Training Both Control Voucher Training Both Control Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Midline. Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. 38 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Moreover, once the wage subsidy attached to the job 13 percent of women and 10 percent of men who are voucher expired, the primary reason that most jobs at- employed informally earn exactly 150. This percent is tached to the voucher were terminated had to do with much lower for people who are formally hired (em- the graduates being perceived as unaffordable in the ployed and registered for social security), as one might absence of the subsidy. This suggests that despite up expect from firms who are more likely to strictly fol- to 6 months of work experience with a graduate, em- ployers considered the minimum wage too high rela- tive to the marginal productivity of the workers they had hired. Taken together, this implies that the mini- Figure 37. Monthly Wages for Men mum wage may be binding or at least set too high for between the Ages 19–29 this category of young entrants into the labor market and that this may be one important regulatory reason 0.25 Old minimum New minimum wage 190 JD that the impacts of the voucher were temporary and 0.20 wage that female youth unemployment rates are so high. 150 JD Proportion 0.15 0.10 A snapshot of youth salaries by the JLMPS bolsters 0.05 the theory that the minimum wage is binding for 0.00 youth in Jordan. 90 percent of youth between 19 to 25 75 125 175 225 275 325 375 425 475 29 years old earn monthly salaries less than 500 JD, Monthly wage and thus Figure 37, Figure 38 and Figure 39 reveal the Informal Formal proportion of the employed youth population who earn less than 500 JD monthly in 25 JD intervals. Source: 2010 JLMPS. Minimum Wages Are Not Always a Panacea for Youth Unemployment Across the world, many countries have put in place minimum wages to guarantee formal workers a decent standard of living. However, the jury is still out on the relationship between the level of the minimum wage and the employment prospects of those who seek employment at or near that wage. Setting a wage too low may not allow workers to meet their basic needs; on the other hand, setting it too high may increase the costs to employers so much that they cut down on employment, so that many receive no wage at all. In the end, the effect of the minimum wage depends on how well the labor market is functioning: whether there are adequate workers with the necessary skills to perform jobs that are offered at the minimum wage, and whether there are enough jobs that will absorb these job-seekers at the minimum wage. Employers face a simple calculation: Is the potential productivity of the new worker hired at the minimum wage at least as high as the minimum wage? Within the United States and other OECD countries, economists view minimum wages with caution: 74 percent of American economists agree with minor caveats or fully agree that “a minimum wage increases unemployment among young and unskilled workers.â€?a Whether a minimum wage increases employment or not is relative to context. In 1992, Card and Krueger studied employment at fast food restaurants in New Jersey and concluded that an 18.8 increase in the minimum wage increased employment.b However, this result is atypical, and most studies that involve the entire labor market or the youth labor market suggest that an increase in the minimum wage decreases employment. In fact all minimum wage studies in developing countries—Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, and Indonesia—find a negative relationship between minimum wage and employment.c In labor markets with strong regulatory frameworks, firms have only two options when the minimum wage rises: reduce workforce or pay more for the same amount of labor. In less formal economies, firms have a third option: substitute formal workers for informal workers. Thus, as the minimum wage increases in less developed countries, formal employment may decrease. Countries can potentially avoid the negative employment consequences of minimum wages by providing exceptions to specific industries or specific groups like uneducated youth from the minimum wage.d Specifically, educated and uneducated youth lack work experience, and thus, their marginal product typically isn’t worth the value of the minimum wage, which means the employer isn’t interested in hiring the youth and the youth fail to gain any experience. If the employer could pay less, youth could potentially break out of the vicious cycle of unemployment induced by the minimum wage. a   Fuller and Geide-Stevenson 2003. b   Card and Krueger 200. c   Neumark and Wascher 2007. d   Scarpetta et al 2010. What Have We Learnt? 39 low labor laws and be registered with the SSC. Due women are much more likely to be pushed below the to their size and profitability, formal firms also tend to minimum wage if they want to work. attract more skilled people. Nevertheless, the bunch- ing in the informal sector suggests the minimum To summarize, the evaluation of the Jordan NOW wage is binding—employers would like to hire people pilot revealed that: below 150 JD per month, but they cannot. Not all employers are worried about the minimum wage law: 1. Job vouchers increased employment in the short 33 percent and 7 percent of people working in the run while training had little effect on employ- informal and formal sector, respectively, earn less than ment; the then current minimum wage of 150 JD. Nearly a 2. Once the vouchers expired, firms were reluctant quarter of women (almost double the proportion of to continue to hire community college graduates men) in the formal and informal sectors combined at the minimum wage (which was 150 JD during earn less than 150 JD per month, which suggests that the duration of the pilot, and has subsequently been raised), suggesting that the net productivity of the worker as perceived by the firm was low; Figure 38. Monthly Wages for Women 3. Job vouchers increased labor force participation between the Ages 19–29 by extending search duration; and 4. Very few of those employed were formally regis- 0.25 tered with social security. Old minimum New minimum wage 190 JD 0.20 wage 150 JD The results point to a lack of job creation that con- Proportion 0.15 0.10 strains the demand for labor of these young workers. 0.05 Boosting private sector led job creation in Jordan will 0.00 require a comprehensive approach to employment 25 75 125 175 225 275 325 375 425 475 creation which tackles supply side as well as demand Monthly wage side issues. The new Jordanian National Employment Informal Formal Strategy (NES) for instance, calls for reforms to the legal and regulatory environment to stimulate invest- Source: 2010 JLMPS. ments in high value added sectors, improve competi- tiveness and improve the business environment in Jordan, easing entry and exit especially for small and Cumulative Graph of Monthly Figure 39.  medium enterprises, revamping the vocational train- Wages for Men and Women ing programs to better match the needs of the labor between the Ages 19–29 market and measures to expand female participation in the workforce by providing flexible work options 1.0 Old minimum and a suitable working environment. Cumulative proportion 0.8 wage 0.6 150 JD Numbers vary widely on how many jobs the Jor- 0.4 danian economy is producing every year. Based on 0.2 the various sources, the NES estimates that around New minimum wage 190 JD 65,000–70,000 jobs are created per year, around 0.0 25 75 125 175 225 275 325 375 425 475 40,000–45,000 of which go to Jordanians. However, Monthly wage just to keep the current unemployment rate (and also inactive population rate) constant, Jordan needs Informal Formal to create around 70,000 jobs for Jordanians per year. Source: 2010 JLMPS. It would need to create even more jobs to start re- 40 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? ducing unemployment and increasing employment face many of the same constraints to entering the rates. Thus, even in the short term, concerted and labor market, as well as similarly high rates of dis- coordinated efforts would need to be made to bring couragement from the labor market. Insofar as they young people into productive employment in a man- display these similar characteristics, the lessons from ner that is compatible with robust economic growth the pilot may be relatively easy to generalize to the and comprehensive reform over the medium term. universe of young educated females in Jordan. Within this context, we now turn to examining the Turning now to educated male youth, while they lessons and policy implications of the Jordan NOW also face long search durations, their opportunity set pilot. Employability skills training, while improving in terms of employment is far more diverse and they confidence and building a positive outlook, did not face far fewer restrictions in terms of mobility, suit- have any measurable effect on employment. At some ability of jobs, and working hours. The latter also level, given the limited spectrum of private sector explains why over time, young males are far more jobs available for female community college gradu- likely to find employment than young females. On ates, it is no surprise that any training effects were the one hand, educated young Jordanian men may overwhelmed by the sheer lack of opportunities. As have less of a need for the additional push that a for the job vouchers, while they did get graduates voucher brings, but on the other hand, their greater a foot in the door, and short term labor market ex- mobility and access to job opportunities may allow perience, it is little too early to tell how this will them to rapidly reduce the duration of their transi- translate into longer term labor market outcomes. tion from school to work. Insofar as they are more It is important to note that the combination of em- likely to find employment in high growth sectors, ployability skills with the voucher subsidy had no they will also be more likely to display more sus- incremental effect on employment outcomes. tained employment outcomes. That being said, young educated Jordanians, on Given the current context in Jordan and many average, search for a job for more than 15 months other countries in the Middle East and North Af- after graduation. Given these very long spells of rica of structurally high rates of youth unemploy- unemployment and search, a case can be made for ment, there may be scope for interventions such speeding up the transition from school-to-work to as job vouchers to help ease the transition from minimize the risk of discouragement and dropout as school to work and provide opportunities for gain- well as provide an opportunity for accruing valuable ing valuable labor market experience. In this spirit, experience and skills on the job. So even if the em- and drawing on the lessons from the implementa- ployment effects are relatively short-lived, the gains tion and results of the Jordan NOW pilot, we of- in terms of labor market experience and extending fer the outlines of a potential scaled-up model of job search could make job vouchers a worthwhile the voucher intervention (Annex III). The proposal policy option. emphasizes the importance of selecting the right target group, setting the subsidy at a rate that bal- Another consideration in drawing broader lessons ances the incentives for firms to create productive from the pilot is to keep in mind that the pilot target- and sustainable employment while making it worth ed one of the hardest-to-reach groups, young female their while to take a chance on young entrants into community college graduates. What lessons can be the labor market. Another critical element for any drawn from the pilot experience that could inform expansion of this type of voucher program must a scale-up to a broader target group like young edu- be a regular, comprehensive and accurate monitor- cated males and female university graduates? Young ing system, to track progress and make mid-course female university graduates study many of the same corrections, especially in the early stages of imple- fields as their community college counterparts and mentation. 7 References Almeida, Rita, Juliana Arbelaez, Maddalena Ho- Card, David, and Alan B. Krueger. 2000. “Mini- norati,, Arvo Kuddo, Tanja Lohmann, Mirey mum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of Ovadiya, Lucian Pop, Maria Laura Sanchez the FastFood Industry in New Jersey and Penn- Puerta and Michael Weber (2012) “Improving sylvania: Reply.â€? American Economic Review. 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Annex I Analysis Table 16. Take-Up Regressions Training take–up Voucher take–up (1) (2) (3) (4) Stratifying variables         Amman, Salt, or Zarqa 0.025 –0.022 –0.174*** –0.164*** (0.040) (0.042) (0.041) (0.043) Tawjihi score above median –0.086** –0.079** 0.001 –0.004 (0.040) (0.039) (0.041) (0.041) No desire to work full time –0.099** –0.097** –0.047 –0.034 (0.041) (0.041) (0.042) (0.041) Is allowed to travel to the market alone –0.031 –0.022 0.069* 0.071* (0.040) (0.039) (0.041) (0.041) Dual treatment group 0.059 0.051 0.007 0.006 (0.039) (0.039) (0.040) (0.040) Other variables according to baseline status       Married at baseline –0.195*** –0.093 (0.060) (0.061) Wealth index 0.003 0.013 (0.011) (0.012) Number of brothers 0.020** 0.015 (0.010) (0.012) Number of sisters –0.007 –0.008 (0.009) (0.009) Has e-mail 0.115** –0.016 (0.054) (0.058) In admin/finance program 0.115*** –0.111*** (0.040) (0.042) Sample size 599 599 598 598 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. Note: Huber-White standard errors in parentheses. *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10, 5 and 1% levels respectively. 43 44 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Table 17. Impacts on Different Dimensions of Employment Employed and Employed and registered registered Months Hours Work Work for Social for Social employed worked income (not income Labor force Security Security Ever since last conditional (conditional participation Employed (Survey) (Admin data) employed graduation week on working) on working) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) Panel A: Midline Results (April 2011)           Assigned to 0.028 0.395*** 0.045** 0.005 0.357*** 1.538*** 13.416*** 64.498*** 23.730*** voucher (0.031) (0.035) (0.022) (0.020) (0.036) (0.178) (1.301) (5.783) (8.175) Assigned to –0.002 0.031 0.034 –0.002 0.059* 0.238 1.100 5.709 5.599 training (0.033) (0.031) (0.022) (0.019) (0.034) (0.174) (1.172) (4.828) (10.350) Assigned to 0.055 –0.022 –0.055 –0.010 –0.035 –0.159 –0.166 –4.245 –6.637 both (0.046) (0.052) (0.034) (0.029) (0.054) (0.273) (1.963) (8.598) (11.142) Sample size 1,237 1,237 1,237 1,282 1,237 1,237 1,237 1,237 448 Control mean 0.77 0.18 0.07 0.07 0.23 0.78 6.60 24.93 141.73 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline Note: Huber–White standard errors in parentheses. *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10, 5 and 1% levels respectively. All regressions also control for stratification dummies. Outcome of “Ever Employedâ€? not available in midline survey. Heterogeneity of Employment Impact by Randomization Stratification Variables Table 18.  Low desire to work Allowed to travel to Interaction Amman High aptitude full–time market alone Dependent variable: Employed (1) (2) (3) (4) Panel A: Midline results (April 2011)         Assigned to voucher 0.504*** 0.426*** 0.380*** 0.339*** (0.043) (0.050) (0.046) (0.049) Assigned to training 0.019 0.062 0.022 0.049 (0.033) (0.043) (0.042) (0.044) Assigned to both 0.021 –0.041 –0.013 0.024 (0.064) (0.076) (0.069) (0.075) Voucher* interaction –0.254*** –0.057 0.036 0.111 (0.071) (0.069) (0.070) (0.069) Training* interaction 0.021 –0.056 0.023 –0.033 (0.064) (0.062) (0.061) (0.062) Both* interaction –0.086 0.035 –0.022 –0.094 (0.105) (0.104) (0.105) (0.104) Sample size 1,237 1,237 1,237 1,237 Control mean when Interaction=0 0.10 0.14 0.22 0.163 Control mean when Interaction =1 0.28 0.21 0.12 0.19 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline Note: Huber–White standard errors in parentheses. *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10, 5 and 1% levels respectively. All regressions also control for stratification dummies. Annex I. Analysis 45 Table 19. Impacts on Different Dimensions of Employment Employed Employed and and registered registered Months Hours Work Work for Social for Social employed worked income (not income Labor force Security Security Ever since last conditional (conditional participation Employed (Survey) (Admin data) employed graduation week on working) on working) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) Panel B: Endline results (December 2011) Assigned to 0.100*** 0.028 0.016 –0.015 0.272*** 2.456*** 1.534 5.573 5.006 voucher (0.037) (0.032) (0.026) (0.026) (0.036) (0.393) (1.426) (6.061) (10.096) Assigned to 0.054 0.015 0.039 –0.005 0.036 0.115 1.534 0.790 –11.631 training (0.037) (0.032) (0.027) (0.026) (0.037) (0.368) (1.448) (5.783) (10.602) Assigned to both –0.044 –0.025 –0.066* –0.012 0.037 –0.104 –1.455 –1.291 13.850 (0.055) (0.048) (0.039) (0.038) (0.054) (0.574) (2.201) (9.060) (15.108) Sample size 1,287 1,287 1,249 1,282 1,250 1,249 1,249 1,249 312 Control mean 0.484 0.229 0.148 0.126 0.388 2.626 9.579 39.534 168.958 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline Note: Huber–White standard errors in parentheses. *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10, 5 and 1% levels respectively. All regressions also control for stratification dummies. Outcome of “Ever Employedâ€? not available in midline survey. Heterogeneity of Employment Impact by Randomization Stratification Variables Table 20.  Low desire to work Allowed to travel to Interaction Amman High aptitude full-time market alone Dependent variable: Employed (1) (2) (3) (4) Panel B: Endline results (December 2011)       Assigned to voucher 0.085** 0.013 –0.007 0.031 (0.037) (0.044) (0.043) (0.045) Assigned to training 0.061* 0.015 0.012 –0.026 (0.035) (0.045) (0.044) (0.042) Assigned to both –0.059 0.022 –0.019 –0.004 (0.057) (0.068) (0.065) (0.066) Voucher* interaction –0.130* 0.028 0.088 –0.005 (0.066) (0.063) (0.064) (0.064) Training* interaction –0.104 0.001 0.009 0.080 (0.066) (0.063) (0.062) (0.063) Both* interaction 0.078 –0.085 –0.016 –0.039   (0.099) (0.096) (0.096) (0.096) Sample size 1,287 1,287 1,287 1,287 Control mean when Interaction=0 0.11 0.21 0.28 0.22 Control mean when Interaction =1 0.39 0.25 0.16 0.23 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. Note: Huber-White standard errors in parentheses. *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10, 5 and 1% levels respectively. All regressions also control for stratification dummies. 46 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Table 21. Impacts on Wellbeing, Empowerment, Attitudes, and Marriage at Endline Life ladder Severely Mobility Empowerment Life ladder future MHI 5 poor MH index index Married (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) Assigned to voucher 0.577*** –0.201 –0.177 0.017 –0.526*** –0.060 0.026 (0.180) (0.159) (0.276) (0.031) (0.141) (0.068) (0.036) Assigned to training 0.283 0.266** 0.582** –0.048* –0.072 –0.018 –0.003 (0.185) (0.131) (0.281) (0.029) (0.120) (0.072) (0.036) Assigned to both –1.005*** –0.071 –0.553 0.030 0.834*** 0.084 –0.032 (0.265) (0.210) (0.415) (0.045) (0.186) (0.102) (0.053) Sample size 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 Control mean 4.970 8.128 19.266 0.197 5.259 4.847 0.313 Source: 2011 Jordan NOW Endline. Note: Huber–White standard errors in parentheses. *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10, 5 and 1% levels respectively. All regressions also control for stratification dummies. Severely Poor MH indicates MHI–5 index is below 17. Annex II Implementation 47 48 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? 1.  Jordan NOW Fact Sheet Annex II. Implementation 49 2.  Jordan NOW Training letter 50 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? 3.  Jordan NOW Voucher letter Annex II. Implementation 51 4.  Jordan NOW Newspaper Ad 52 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? 5.  Jordan NOW Employability Skills The consultant firm will follow a demand driven skill- Training ToR building and experience-sharing approach in offering its skill building programs to make it effective, excit- ing and interesting for the participants. This includes: Terms of Reference • Innovative Thinking and Flexible Learning: Employability Skills Training The sessions will not be based on a lecture for- mat, rather on active participation and the co- These terms of reference lay out the details of the operative learning concept. The consultant firm employability skills training component of the Jor- will strive to portray the program as a powerful dan Employment Pilot, implemented by the World facilitator guiding change and excellence utiliz- Bank with coordination and support from the Min- ing Thinking Games to encourage participants istry of Planning and International Cooperation. to challenge themselves to create new results. Moreover, special visual learning experiences Project background and objectives: and powerful demonstrations will be offered to The proposed pilot program will experimentally make the whole training, a wonderful and high test the effectiveness of specifically designed in- energy experience. terventions, targeted at recent female community college graduates to promote their employment • Measurable: opportunities. This specific TOR pertains to the The consultant firm will utilize measurement and provision of employability skills training, which evaluation system which is unique and encour- provides job seekers with interpersonal and profes- age deeper involvement of participants. Sessions sional skills that employers look for when hiring at the program will be evaluated utilizing both new graduates. qualitative and quantitative data collection meth- ods such as surveys, written questionnaires, and Scope of work — Employability skills training: verbal feedback from participants, and trainers. The aim of this training is to equip young gradu- ates with particular cross-cutting professional skills, • Extensive Customization which are lacking in typical community college cur- Each program will be customized in a way ricula. The consultant firm will design the training to meet the needs of the community college curricula. The training curriculum defines the con- graduates. tent of the training program. As a means of insuring quality control, the con- The proposed program will be conducted over 50 sultant firm must guarantee a level of consistency hours over a 2-week period (5 hours per day over 10 across the concurrent training sessions. Whether days) for a maximum of 30 participants in each train- this is achieved through a training of trainers (TOT) ing session. It will tackle topics related to soft skills, or a standard curriculum will be left to the discre- interpersonal and management skills as follows: tion of the consultant firm. • Positive Thinking (1 day) • Effective Communication Skills (1 day) Detailed Training Outline: • Effective Presentation Skills (2 days) • Team Building and Team Work (2 days) • Communication and Presentation Skills • Excellence in Service (1 day) General objective: • CV Writing and Interviewing Skills (2 days) This program aims to introduce participants to • Business Writing (1 day) modern concepts of the communication process as Annex II. Implementation 53 well as develop their skills in communicating and CV Writing and Interviewing Skills dealing with others in a positive manner. General objective: Topics: By the end of the training, university students/grad- —— The communication process: concept, im- uates will have written their Curriculum Vitae and portance, elements will gain an insight on how to perform well in a job —— Stages of communication, and obstacles. interview. —— Communication Skills —— Listening skills Topics for CV Writing —— Oral skills 1. Introduction —— Writing reports 1. What is a “CVâ€?? 2. Why do we write a “CVâ€?? • Team Work / Team Building 3. Different Types of “CVâ€? General objective: 4. CV Main Rules This program aims to provide participants with knowledge for team-building and the importance 2.  The Cover Letter. of teamwork in business performance in addition 1. Cover Letter Hints to the skills necessary to adopt the teamwork spirit which will reflect positively on their performance 3.  Before Writing the CV. and attitudes in their professional lives. 1. Visual Layout 2. Fonts and Sizes Topics: 3. Results orientated CV —— Teams: concept, importance, composition 4. How to test your CV —— Stages team creation / building —— Types and roles of team members 4.  Writing the CV. —— Characteristics of the effective team 1. How To Write a CV —— Principles and characteristics of team work 2. The Order —— The Evaluation and measurement of team 3. Heading performance 4. Heading Examples 5. Good Heading Example • Positive Thinking 6. Objective General objective: 7. Professional Experience This program aims to provide participants with the 8. Training / Part Time Jobs needed skills to switch negative to positive and to be 9. Education able to utilize that in business situations. 10. Certifications and Awards 11. Successful Achievements Topics: 12. Languages —— How to identify negative thinking and be- 13. Skills havior habits. —— Methods, models and techniques for switch- 5. Updating Your CV. ing negative to positive. 1. What updates? —— Thinking systems for success—planning the 2. Visual Layout Updates positive future. —— Visualization techniques to transform busi- ness situations. 54 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Topics for Interviewing Skills: Topics: 1.  The Ins and Outs of Interviewing • A general introduction of the “serviceâ€? 1. Interviewing-What is it? • The importance of the service in labor market 2. Types of Interviews • The client / customer and its importance 3. Pre-Interview Preparation • What is a high quality service? 4. Arriving • How to gain and maintain a clients’ satis- 5. Greeting & Introduction faction 6. Body Language: What signals are you send- • The mechanism of communicating with a ing? unsatisfied customer 7. Types of Interview Questions • Types of customers 8. General Interview Strategies • Handling Complaints 9. Dressing for Success-Men • The art of dealing with the public (clients 10. Dressing for Success-Women and customers). • The importance of listening skills 2.  Business Writing • Skills needed for Call Centers General objective: The main objective of the session is to introduce the 5.  Monitoring and Evaluation concept of business writing to the participants and The training programs will be delivered to have an the need for systematic writing. The participants impact at different levels, including the individual will be introduced to different types of correspon- level (e.g. change in graduates skill sets gained in the dences and writing methods. training program) and the organizational level (e.g. change in their professional career development). Topics: The consultant firm’s monitoring and evaluation • Objects of business writing activities and tools will track the progress and sus- • Fundamentals of business writing tainability of these changes over time utilizing the • Types of correspondences following tools: • Means of delivery • Correspondences layout • On-going Communication: The consul- —— Template tant firm will be in constant communication —— Date & reference with graduates, to monitor learning process, —— Attention outputs, and benefits. —— Subject • Training evaluations: Following each train- —— Body ing both qualitative and quantitative data —— Signature will be collected through surveys, written • Common phrases questionnaires, and verbal feedback from • Fax participants, and trainers. In addition, and • E-mail to ensure maximum benefit; our trainers • Memo examine participants’ skill levels during the • Commercial offers training, identify the causes of performance gaps, and then select the method of inter- 4.  Excellence in Service vention to correct the situation. General objective: • Continuous Reporting: The consultant This program aims to provide participants with the firm will continuously report to the World concept of customer service in the aim of raising the Bank and Ministry of Planning and Inter- level and quality of services, as well as develop the national Cooperation regarding the training participants’ skills in dealing with customers, clients, component. and the public. Annex II. Implementation 55 Deliverables: of Eid Al-Fitr. In order to insure that this training • Developing custom-made training program. will generate a substantial difference in the profes- • Delivering 20 training Programs of 50 train- sional and workplace capabilities of recipients, we ing hours each estimate that a 2 week period of 50 training hours —— (Total of 600 trainees—approximately 30 will be required. participants in each program). • Insuring quality control and consistency of As the targeted students will be spread out in 6 differ- the training. ent governorates, the consultant firm must possess the • Providing quality venues that are easily ac- capacity to initiate multiple training sessions simul- cessible. taneously in the allotted month of training, covering • Monitoring and evaluating the training, re- beneficiaries from all 8 colleges at the same time. porting results to the World Bank team. • Managing the training component of the Terms and Conditions: program. Please note that the consultant firm is not required • Administering an evaluation of the training to provide job matching services to trainees as a during the final sessions. part of this training. While it is the World Bank’s responsibility to select and recruit the training re- Target population: cipients, the consultant firm is responsible for coor- Eligible training recipients will consist of commu- dinating and informing these training recipients of nity college students who successfully graduate. Out the time and location of their training session, using of the universe of all graduating community college contact information provided by the bank team. students, we will randomly select 600 young graduates from eight preselected BAU colleges (using a lottery) to The World Bank team reserves the right to extend, take part in this training: reduce, or terminate the contract or suspend pay- ments in case the survey firm does not properly perform her work and obligations. In addition, the Community College Governorate contract may also expire if the World Bank team de- Amman University College Amman cides to put an end to the study. Princess Alia University College Amman Al-Huson University College Irbid Irbid University College Irbid Jordan NOW MIS and Voucher 6.  Ajloun University College Ajloun Fund Implementation and Supervision Terms of Reference Zarqa University College Zarqa Al-Karak University College Al-Karak Al-Salt College Al-Salt Terms of Reference Monitoring Information System and Fund While the lottery will insure fairness in determining Disbursement the training recipients, this project has a special focus on female graduates, therefore all participants will be female. Jordan NOW: New Work Opportunities for Women Pilot Program Training Dates and Implementation: These terms of reference (ToRs) specify the objec- Due to time restrictions during Ramadan, training tives and requirements for a consultant to set up and should commence immediately after the conclusion manage the Monitoring Information System (MIS) including the tracking of vouchers, firms and gradu- 56 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? ates for the Jordan New Work Opportunities for A.  Consultancy Services Women (Jordan NOW) Pilot. These services also in- The MIS will track, update information, and pro- clude support during the inception and implementa- vide monthly progress reports on two target seg- tion phase in the form of printing materials and dis- ments (See Annex II on MIS): semination of information to participating graduates and interested firms, provision of regular feedback Young female graduates who have been select-   1.  on take-up by graduates and firms, and verification ed through the lottery to receive job vouchers. of eligibility criteria. These ToRs also clarify the roles, The estimated number of female graduates to responsibilities and implementation arrangements be monitored is 600. Of these, 450 graduates for managing, supervising and disbursing funds for who first secure valid employment will benefit the job voucher component of Jordan NOW. from the voucher. These young women have successfully graduated from eight Al-Balqa Jordan NOW is implemented by the World Bank University (BAU) colleges: with coordination and support from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC). Community college Governorate Project Background and Objectives: Amman University College Amman Princess Alia University College Amman Jordan NOW is a new initiative that aims to increase Al-Huson University College Irbid female labor force participation amongst recent grad- Irbid University College Irbid uates from eight community colleges. Young women Ajloun University College Ajloun who have passed the comprehensive examinations in August 2010 will be selected through a lottery to re- Zarqa University College Zarqa ceive one or both of the following interventions: Al-Karak University College Al-Karak Al-Salt College Al-Salt 1. Job vouchers: A job voucher with the face value of 150 JD per month for a maximum of 6 months. This voucher is intended as a short-term incen- All firms and organizations who participate   2.  tive for employers to take a chance on hiring new in Jordan NOW as employers of these female graduates, and provide an opportunity for young community college graduates. women to gain valuable work experience. 2. Training: A 50-hour intensive training in em- The consultant will be responsible for verifying ployability skills implemented by the Business employment according to the following criteria: Development Center If any firm or organization, public or private, agrees The pilot program will experimentally test the ef- to employ the graduate, then the organization needs fectiveness of these interventions; a baseline for the to satisfy the following eligibility conditions and impact evaluation was conducted in July 2010. submit documentation for verification: Scope of Work: • Valid municipality work permit • Proof of registration: For instance, private com- The scope of work consists of two main activities: panies may be registered with the Jordanian 1. Consultancy services including MIS, tracking Chamber of Commerce or Jordanian Chamber and verification of eligibility, and support for of Industries; NGOs may be registered with rel- dissemination activities evant line ministries 2. Management, supervision and disbursement of funds for job voucher component Annex II. Implementation 57 • Bank account and willingness to share details 2. The consultant must provide a dedicated con- with the consultant; The employer must also en- tact email address and phone number for Jor- sure a suitable protocol exists for receiving bank- dan NOW that any interested graduate and firm to-bank transfers.9 may use for further enquiries.10 • Official letter of appointment or employment 3. The consultant is expected to make efforts in col- contract stipulating terms and job description laboration with the World Bank team to ensure signed by employer and employee that there is a maximum take-up in the program. • Minimum wage offer of JD 150 per month The consultant is not expected to make any efforts to help graduates find jobs. The consultant will be The consultant will verify valid employment upon however expected to help in making the firm un- receiving from the firm via fax or email the follow- derstand this is a legitimate offer and easy to use.11 ing as proof of eligibility in order to register into the 4. Whether the job voucher is cashed or not de- voucher program: pends on business and other conditions, and the consultant is not expected to make any efforts to 1. Photocopy of the municipality work permit that end. As such the consultant will not be held 2. Photocopy of registration certificate from the responsible for the number of graduates that will appropriate agency be able to benefit from the voucher scheme. 3. The employing firm must have a bank account 5. An audit of the intervention will be carried out to receive the payments and must be willing to around 3 months into the program by a third share this information with the consultant party and the consultant will be expected to pro- 4. Full address vide all relevant information concerning the im- 5. Business phone contact number plementation of the component to the auditors. 6. Appointment letter or employment contract with the graduate’s name stamped with the firm’s seal B.  Management, supervision and disbursement and which states the salary (a minimum wage of- of funds under the job voucher component fer of JD 150 is required) and explains duties and The consultant will be responsible for manag- responsibilities under this position. This docu- ing a fund for payments to firms under the job mentation must be supported by a copy of the voucher component; for supervision of this fund; graduate’s ID card. In case all conditions were and for disbursement of funds upon stringent fulfilled and proof received from the employer, verification of eligibility criteria and employment a formal acceptance letter will be issued by the contracts. The consultant will be responsible for program to the employer. reimbursing firms 150 JD per month for a maxi- This registration is compulsory to avail of the job voucher; no payment will be released until the consultant verifies that the firm is eligible to par- 9 In the absence of a clear protocol, including the absence of a ticipate. By providing the job appointment letter the bank account into which transfers can be made or unwilling- ness to share bank details, reimbursements against vouchers employer confirms his/her consent to comply with will not be possible. other program conditions as described in section (B) 10 In handling enquiries, the consultant must follow project (ii) of this TORs. guidelines as set out in project brochures and flyers. Any The consultant will support information and dis- clarifications will be handled as necessary and on a case- by-case basis by the World Bank team, with the approval semination activities by: of the TTL. 1. Printing all documentation for the student infor- 11 In the absence of a formal appointment letter or employ- mation sessions—information sheets, voucher let- ment contract, an employment agreement will be signed ters and training letters, organizing these packages by the employer and the graduate. This agreement will be and verifying the identity of the recipients. drafted by the consultant and approved by the TTL. 58 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? mum of 6 months upon successful verification of into an employment contract and have satisfied employment and bank details. all eligibility criteria. This list must be linked to bank details and transfer amounts for payments The logistics for these activities are described below: due for the preceding month. Upon submission of this list and the TTL’s approval, an amount 1. Once the MIS is designed and functioning, and equal to the total will be transferred to the fund accounting and management support teams are for disbursements to the approved firms. in place, the consultant will begin the process of 4. All transfers from the voucher account to the verification of eligibility. employer must be tracked in the MIS, and a bi- 2. The following verification and payment rules must monthly report on all transfers in the form of be followed for each approved disbursement: formal bank statements must be submitted to a. Upon the start of the employment, both the the TTL. firm and the graduate will be required to confirm their employment with the consul- Methodology tant by the 25th of each month. A grace pe- riod of 7 days from the 25th will be allowed. The services will be provided on three phases: Failure to confirm employment status on either side beyond that will result in pay- 1.  Inception Phase: ments being reimbursed at the next monthly The consultant shall provide assistance to the Jordan cycle, along with any reimbursements that NOW pilot to help in launching the program by may be due for the next month. Failure to contributing to the following aspects: confirm employment status for two continu- ous monthly cycles may risk a termination 1. Facilitating contact with the community col- of benefits from the program. Each of these leges administration for coordination purposes. payments is a reimbursement: The employer 2. Supervising the design and production of infor- must pay the salary first, and upon verifica- mation documents such as fact sheet, voucher, tion, the program will reimburse the employ- training letter and other material if necessary. er through a bank transfer 3. Attending some of the information and public b. The employment should be at least one month awareness sessions organized for selected gradu- long to receive the first payment. The firms ates at colleges by the World Bank and MoPIC, and students will also be monitored by the and participate in presentation and answering consultant each month to verify continued graduates questions. employment in the firm. In addition, random visits will be paid to firms reporting having The duration of this phase is about four weeks. hired a graduate by the administrator of the voucher program to ensure that reimburse- 2.  Setup Phase: ment claims are legitimate. If these conditions The consultant shall prepare and install the required are not satisfied, the consultant will stop the database and MIS system for monitoring and follow job-voucher payments and bar the student up of graduates after the launching of the program. and the firm from further participation. The set up will also include the development of c. The consultant must verify bank account de- forms and files to be use in the monitoring process. tails provided by the employer. The database will be structured to contain the es- 3. Once each month, on the 3rd of the month or sential information of the graduates (voucher serial earlier, beginning in November 2010, the con- number, ID number, registration number, name, sultant must provide the TTL with the list of college, address, etc.). This phase will consist of the all employers and graduates who have entered following steps: Annex II. Implementation 59 1. Prepare a classified list of interested employers 3. Keep copies of official documents and correspon- (according to sectors) with the required special- dence such as enterprises official documents, let- izations and vacancies (if available). The list will ters of appointment and employment contracts. be entered in the system including enterprises’ 4. Report to the World Bank about the progress of basic information and contact addresses. This the program. will be done in coordination with the Chambers 5. Approve the employers entitled to collect of Industry and Commerce. voucher payments based on the acceptance con- 2. Prepare a classified list of the interested target ditions. graduates including their information to be en- 6. Keep updated accounts of the vouchers eligible tered in the system. Initially, there will be 600 payments and the remaining payments. graduates in the database, but eventually the re- 7. Daily maintenance of the system. cords of monitoring will include only the ones who managed to benefit from the vouchers and The consultant shall perform the following procedures get stable jobs. in order to monitor the program implementation: 3. Design and produce a brochure or flyer to be distributed to the Chambers of Industry and 1. Receive the calls from the successful graduates Commerce and among graduates, in order to informing the administrator of placement in a advertise and raise awareness among enterprises new job with an employer. about the program. The quantity of flyers shall 2. Provide guidance and advice to both employed be determined later. graduate and employer regarding the rules and 4. Design the MIS according to the criteria needed instructions of the program. to manage the program. The MIS shall include 3. Request and receive the official documents as an records of the job vouchers and job locations; evidence of employment. follow up steps, inspection visits and financial 4. Collect the required documentation from the status of the salary subsidy per each graduate. employer. 5. Open a file or a record for the employed gradu- The MIS used shall be simple and practical. It is an- ate to start the tracking steps. ticipated to use Access and Excel software in setting 6. Prepare a schedule for random checks of em- up the system. The duration of this phase is about ployer’s work locations (unannounced visits) to four weeks. ensure the attendance of the employed graduate. 7. Report any case of corruption or incompliance 3.  Implementation Phase: with the program and take necessary action. The consultant shall use the developed MIS and the 8. Receive request for collecting the voucher pay- available resources to monitor the activity of the tar- ments from employers. get female graduates and their progress in finding jobs and retaining these jobs. They shall provide a The unannounced visits will be organized as one contact officer to receive calls from graduates, in ad- day per week on average. During the field inspec- dition to supporting staff to manage the monitoring tion day, several enterprises shall be visited, and a process. The tasks and responsibilities of the moni- special form or report shall be generated to describe toring staff will include: the situation. 1. Follow up and trace the employed graduates by Methodology for managing, supervising and dis- means of contact and field visits to the work- bursing funds under the voucher component: place. 2. Keep updated electronic track of the status of 1. The consultant will prepare a monthly list of employed graduates. eligible employers, the graduates who have been 60 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? employed, the amount of payments due to them Accountant and their bank account details. 2. All such employers and employment contracts shall be verified and sent to the TTL for approval MIS administrator Field inspector 3. Upon receipt of the funds, the consultant shall disburse the funds to the approved firms 4. The consultant shall maintain an up-to-date Support staff Logistics officer/driver record of each and every such disbursement to firms. 5. The consultant will submit a statement of all Program Termination disbursements made in a month each month by the 25th of the month to the TTL. This list must The program might be terminated in case the fol- contain details that allow verification with the lowing conditions were encountered: initial list of approved firms sent by the 3rd of the month, including bank account details. 1. Operating for 3 months during the set up and implementation phases. Timeframe 2. Failure to achieve the target (i.e. successful employment of about 100 community college The monitoring and management services are ex- graduates in the private sector enterprises within pected to take one year from September 2010 till the first 3 months). September 2011. 3. Written consent of all parties to terminate the program. Resources 4. Payment of the fees and expenses of the first 3 months of services provision. The consultant will provide the following: The World Bank team reserves the right to extend, 1. Windows and office applications. reduce, or terminate the contract or suspend pay- 2. Access database stored on Excel spreadsheets. ments in case the consulting firm does not properly 3. Computers perform her work and obligations. In addition, the 4. Copier/Printer contract may also expire if the World Bank team de- 5. Mobile phones cides to put an end to the study. 6. Office space 7. Desks 8. File closets Annex I: Monitoring Information System 9. Stationary 10. Telephone lines 1. An MIS will be designed and updated to track 11. Internet access employment status including any voluntary or 12. Car for transportation during field visits involuntary separations and any new job con- 13. Others tracts within the duration of voucher validity. 2. The consultant will update the MIS system with Team information from periodic checks on the firms and students to minimize the incidence of po- The services shall be managed and implemented tential fraud and to ensure that payment are through a team. The envisioned structure of the team always conditioned on employment since some is as follows: students may leave their employers. The consul- tant will stop payments if there is any evidence Annex II. Implementation 61 of illegitimate use of the program or when the each beneficiary, employment status, payments students leave their employers. records and so on. 3. An information management system will be set up and maintained by the administrator of the The Design of the MIS Will Be Finalized upon interventions to monitor uptake, progress and Approval of the TTL. changes in the roll-out of the component. Such database will include basic information about Example: MIS reports for selected seat numbers Seat Month of Month of Employer Graduate Doc submission Month# number salary payment name Firm ID name Info call date date 1 2012623 2010 / Oct 2010 / Oct 168 25-Sep-10 25-Sep-10 2 2012623 2010 / Nov 2010 / Nov 168 25-Sep-10 25-Sep-10 1 2012721 2010 / Nov 2010 / Nov 473 09-Oct-10 09-Oct-10 5 2012721 2011 / Mar 2011 / Mar 473 09-Oct-10 09-Oct-10 3 2012721 2011 / Jan 2011 / Jan 473 09-Oct-10 09-Oct-10 4 2012721 2011 / Feb 2011 / Feb 473 09-Oct-10 09-Oct-10 2 2012721 2010 / Dec 2010 / Dec 473 09-Oct-10 09-Oct-10 6 2012721 2011 / Apr 2011 / Apr 473 09-Oct-10 09-Oct-10 1 2011458 2010 / Nov 2010 / Nov 223 28-Sep-10 10-Oct-10 5 2011458 2011 / Mar 2011 / Mar 223 28-Sep-10 10-Oct-10 3 2011458 2011 / Jan 2011 / Jan 223 28-Sep-10 10-Oct-10 4 2011458 2011 / Feb 2011 / Feb 223 28-Sep-10 10-Oct-10 2 2011458 2010 / Dec 2010 / Dec 223 28-Sep-10 10-Oct-10 6 2011458 2011 / Apr 2011 / Apr 223 28-Sep-10 10-Oct-10 Starting Approval Wage Work Work Salary Verification work date Job title date offer hours days received date 01-Oct-10   02-Nov-10 150.00 8 6 TRUE 04-Nov-10 01-Oct-10   02-Nov-10 150.00 8 6 TRUE 09-Dec-10 01-Nov-10   28-Nov-10 150.00 8 5 TRUE 09-Dec-10 01-Nov-10   28-Nov-10 150.00 8 5 TRUE 04-Apr-11 01-Nov-10   28-Nov-10 150.00 8 5 TRUE 06-Feb-11 01-Nov-10   28-Nov-10 150.00 8 5 TRUE 01-Mar-11 01-Nov-10   28-Nov-10 150.00 8 5 TRUE 03-Jan-11 01-Nov-10   28-Nov-10 150.00 8 5 TRUE 08-May-11 01-Nov-10   21-Nov-10 150.00 8 6 TRUE 09-Dec-10 01-Nov-10   21-Nov-10 150.00 8 6 TRUE 03-Apr-11 01-Nov-10   21-Nov-10 150.00 8 6 TRUE 06-Feb-11 01-Nov-10   21-Nov-10 150.00 8 6 TRUE 10-Mar-11 01-Nov-10   21-Nov-10 150.00 8 6 TRUE 04-Jan-11 01-Nov-10   21-Nov-10 150.00 8 6 TRUE 08-May-11 Annex III Principles for a Proposed Scale-up W ith this background of high rates of Enrolment: To kick-start the scale-up, enrolment youth unemployment and long search for the voucher should be opened for a fixed period, durations, in a context where minimum say, August–December each year, for consideration wages exceed the value that many of these youth into the program for the next calendar year. Candi- currently offer to the private sector, the objective of dates will fill a simple form covering eligibility infor- a job voucher program should be to lower the costs mation and their ID number, contact information to private firms of hiring unemployed youth. and Bank account details under a special program window with the Implementing Agency (IA). In Given the emphasis on enhancing youth employ- Jordan, an organization such as the Social Security ment in the NES, below we outline the elements Corporation (SSC) is a natural candidate given the of a scaled-up Job Voucher program, should this be design proposal. This form would be mailed to the one of the options under consideration. IA or filled out online on a specially designed portal. The IA will maintain this database of unemployed Proposed Eligibility Criteria: Job voucher eligibil- youth, verify eligibility, and confirm enrolment into ity should be limited to male and female graduates the program to the participant through a voucher of community colleges and universities who are registration number, which identifies them as pro- gram participants. 1. aged 25 and under; 2. have graduated one year or more ago; and Proposed Voucher amount: Vouchers remain the 3. are not currently formally employed (as deter- property of the graduate, and can be taken from one mined by registration in the social security sys- job to another until all months of eligibility have tem). been used. Vouchers should pay the firm who em- ploys a youth enrolled in the program a subsidy that The rationale for limiting eligibility to intermedi- is a fraction of the minimum wage over a period of ate diploma holders and university graduates is to at least a year, with a gradually declining subsidy. By focus on the acquisition of on-the-job general and paying less than the full amount of the minimum employability skills in jobs that these youth are tech- wage, the voucher effectively (a) lowers the cost to nically qualified for. On the other hand, less edu- the employer of hiring a young entrant into the labor cated youth do not compete in the same segment of market; (b) puts the onus on the employer to consid- the labor market and an employment program that er the net productivity of each potential hire relative caters to them may need to focus on developing spe- to the net cost of hiring; and (c) as a result, creates cific technical or vocational skills that improve their incentives and conditions that are more conducive to employability or short-term labor-intensive works. finding longer term employment relationships. 63 64 Soft Skills or Hard Cash? What Works For Female Employment in Jordan? Setting the Voucher Subsidy: How Much Is Too Much? Contrary to the terms of the pilot where the subsidy was set equal to the prevailing minimum wage of 150 JD, we propose a partial subsidy of the minimum wage for any scale-up of the job vouchers component. Why? Because the lessons from the pilot suggest that very few long-term jobs were created when employers were offered a subsidy equal to the minimum wage, and essentially were able to hire workers free for up to six months. And since then, the Jordanian minimum wage has been increased to 190 JD. As a result, firms did not have to pay anything out of pocket for the worker carrying the voucher, although 18 percent firms chose to pay a wage higher than 150 JD. One concern with a full subsidy voucher is one of fraud—that employers pretend to hire workers, not make them do any work, and split the subsidy with the worker. While we have no direct evidence that this happened during voucher implementation, it may be a more pertinent concern in a larger scale program where enforcement and monitoring will need to be strengthened considerably. One the other hand, if the firm has to pay some part of the minimum wage, the tendency for gaming the system becomes more costly. A broader advantage is to tap into the behavioral instinct that people value things only when they pay for them, so that firms will treat workers differently if they are paying some of the worker’s cost rather than if they come free, and potentially be more likely to give them proper tasks on the job. A full subsidy also implies that the employer hires a voucher carrier if their net productivity is perceived to be anything above zero. By having the employer share in the cost of the worker, it creates incentives to better screen workers at hiring, and potentially may lead to more sustained employment matches. However, these concerns have to be balanced with the view, anecdotally and from surveys, that young graduates have limited experience, lack work ethic and that the hiring process involves substantial uncertainty about the quality of the worker. To incentivize firms to take a chance on these young workers, the subsidy will need to be fairly sizeable, albeit less than the full minimum wage, at least in the initial phases. One such proposal is outlined here. The voucher Proposed Implementation Arrangements: subsidizes the monthly wage paid by the firm to the extent of 100 JD per month for each of the first six • Implementing agency: The job voucher will be months a voucher holder is employed, and then by redeemed through registration and verification 50 JD per month for each of the next six months a in a special window created in the IA for the voucher holder is employed. This structure extends program. The employer must register the worker the duration of the voucher period, allowing young in the social security system under a program entrants a longer period of experience on the job and window and make the appropriate social secu- more time to find the right match, and by not sub- rity contributions each month. Contribution to sidizing the full minimum wage, and enforcing cost the social security system will serve as proof the sharing by employers, creates incentives for creating worker is still employed in the firm and will be productive employment relationships. With a full used to automate the payment. These synergies subsidy equal to the minimum wage, hiring a worker with the SSC, and their pre-existing capacity is costless to an employer, resulting in the creation of and database are what make them ideally suited purely temporary or fake jobs to gain the subsidy. to take over program implementation. • Payment scheme: The firm will directly pay the Proposed Conditions of Employment: The job worker the wage net of the appropriate voucher voucher can only be redeemed for a job which is amount and remit the employer’s share of social security contributions to the SSC. Upon verifica- • Full-time: defined as 30 or more hours a week tion of current conditions of employment, em- • Has a written job contract spelling out the re- ployment status, firm’s payment of wage to the sponsibilities of the worker and stating a wage at worker, the IA will credit the subsidy (100 JD or least as high as the minimum wage 50 JD depending on the month of use) to the • Is in the private sector, with a firm that is reg- worker’s account directly after deducting em- istered. ployee contributions to social security. By mak- ing registration in social security a pre-condition Annex III: Principles for a Proposed Scale-up 65 for redeeming the voucher, the SSC and IA da- ed and verified on a monthly basis in line with the tabase will provide an up-to-date snapshot and schedule of voucher payments. Regular random au- verification tool. dits (to 5 percent of participating firms and employ- ees from the database) will be conducted to ensure Treatment under Social Security and Labor Laws: compliance, verify the veracity of information, and Workers hired using the voucher will be considered highlight any implementation issues. Any misrepre- as a special category for this program during the sentation or non-compliance will be subject to legal duration of their voucher use. To allow firms to be action. The objective of these random audits to raise motivated to participate in the program and work- the costs of non-compliance and misuse so as to en- ers to find an appropriate match, firms should not sure effective implementation and achievement of be subject to restrictions or penalties for firing these program objectives. A regular evaluation of the pro- workers during the period of voucher use. Then if gram will be built into the quarterly rounds of the workers are retained once the voucher is finished, Employment Unemployment Surveys conducted by firms should still have the three month probationary the Department of Statistics by (i) oversampling in- period before labor laws on firing bind. dividuals in the target group; and by (ii) administer- ing a specially developed module to collect data on Monitoring, Evaluation and Audit: The database program implementation and outcomes. maintained by the IA and the SSC will be updat-