Jordan Times
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
VTC to train Palestinian women
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Jordan will help the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) empower
Palestinian women and activate the role of organisations concerned with this
sector.
The newly established Palestinian Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Vocational
Training Corporation (VTC) have drafted an agreement under which the VTC will
help qualify the ministry's personnel and train Palestinian women on various
skills, according to officials from both sides.
Bassam Khatib, director general of the human and financial resources, who was in
Amman to draft the deal with the VTC, said under the agreement the corporation
will train Palestinian officials on effective communication, managerial skills,
storekeeping and crisis management, among others.
Training courses for women include IT and computer maintenance in addition to
skills that would help them generate income and secure a decent living under the
harsh conditions of the Israeli occupation, the official added.
VTC Director General Ziad Matarneh pledged full support for the Palestinians and
expressed the VTC's willingness to train personnel working at the ministry and
Palestinian women.
According to the Palestinian Voice of Women magazine (issue 139), the dire
financial situation of many families added to the physical and emotional pain,
and forced Palestinian women to find solutions and alternatives.
“They have knocked the doors of tens of organisations asking for job
opportunities, yet rarely find any response due to the overall social worsening
situation and high rates of unemployment.”
Khatib said his ministry was aware of these facts and that is why he was in
Jordan. Noting that the majority of Palestinian women are housewives, it was
necessary to design programmes that would qualify them to start home businesses
and generate money.
By educating women, the Palestinian leadership is seeking to make room for them
to effectively participate in public life, economic activity and the decision
making process, he said.
The PNA might even make arrangements for Jordanian experts to go to the
Palestinian lands and train women there, the Palestinian official said,
expressing gratitude for Jordan's support for Palestinian institutions and
people.
The VTC has a wide variety of programmes designed for women and these programmes
are updated in accordance with changes in the labour market.
The corporation is bound by cooperation agreements with several Arab countries.
In addition to the PNA, the VTC offers assistance to Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman,
Mauritania and Sudan, among others.