Jordan Times
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Aqaba Port workers benefit from VTC training programmes
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — The Vocational Training Corporation (VTC)
on Wednesday graduated 105 workers at the Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) after
they completed various training courses to upgrade their skills.
VTC South Region Department Director Murad Kurd said the number of graduates is
the largest in the history of the Aqaba VTC centre's relationship with a private
company.
The ACT workers received training on hydraulic engines, electric injection and
ignition and tig and mig welding, among several other skills.
In addition, the centre also carried out a classification process of all ACT
technical staff, Kurd told The Jordan Times.
The VTC, the government agency responsible for regulating vocational work, has
the mandate to test and issue classification certificates for vocational workers
and workshops.
ACT officials and workers said they were completely satisfied with the level of
training offered by the VTC. Some of the workers themselves are graduates from
the Aqaba VTC centre.
“If there was no VTC, I would not have a job,” a port worker said after
finishing training in August. He was trained on general mechanics at the VTC, a
skill that helped him get a job at the terminal.
VTC Director General Ziad Matarneh said the relationship binding the VTC and ACT
exemplifies the type of cooperation the agency seeks with the private sector.
“They believe in us and we are capable of serving them and adding value to their
work,” he said.
Matarneh added that companies like the ACT are able to accurately define their
training needs so the VTC can tailor the necessary programmes and curricula.
He said the VTC, follows a strategy to keep up with the latest global
advancements in technical fields in order to provide skilled labour and upgrade
the skills of existing technical staff.