I have been involved in the SOLiD 1 and 2 projects, but have never had a chance to see how the work is organised in our Southern partners’ organisations or to understand in which way their priorities are linked with a wider socio-economic context. The visit to Amman allowed me not only to discuss relevant topics with such institutions as the Jordania chamber of industry, the Jordanian economic and social council or the Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission.
The exchange with the President of the Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission (TVSDC) was especially interesting. It turned out that there is the same challenge as in the EU: promoting vocational skills and education as the educational choice of a good quality and good image. To me the idea to offer an M.A. degree for those pursuing vocational education was very innovative. The presented materials clearly show that choosing vocational education does not mean excluding the option of obtaining bachelors’ or M.A. diplomas or even pursuing education until the Ph.D. degree. This is a very useful initiative as make more students consider vocational path towards tertiary education. Vocational skills are very much needed everywhere in Europe and in the Southern SOLiD countries.
It was very useful to be able to exchange directly to learn about the way the institutions work. It was good to learn not only about their priorities, but also about the ways their work and liaise with their stakeholders. I have also appreciated a lot two field visits to the special economic zone in Irbid. It enabled me to understand how social dialogue functions at the company level. It was also very interesting to see companies employing many migrant workers and creating a productive environment while preserving diversity of their staff.
Probably the most important challenge – also important in the EU - is to organise effective social dialogue at the company level. Another challenge is to ensure that social partners organisations at the sectoral/national level are representative. Defining representative criteria in an effective and non-politicized way. I also think that a potential challenge is that sometimes social dialogue and civil dialogue are mixed in the southern countries. For the EU countries it is a very important distinction as it implies different roles and responsibilities.
This is a very difficult question as each country/region has its own practices and traditions of social dialogue. I think that exchanging very different experiences and slowly building understanding of a different context is an inspiration of its own.
I am - as all employers’ participants in the Exchange Visit in Amman - very eager to see this south-north cooperation further developing. I appreciate that now I have direct contacts with practitioners from such countries as Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon or Morrocco and can reach out in case of any questions. I do keep my fingers crossed that there is the 3rd edition of the SOLiD project. Ideally, it should focus on implementation of results from the SOLiD I and SOLiD II projects.
Exchanges at the Technical and Vocational Skills Development Commission (TVSDC) on the challenges related to promoting vocational education. Exchanges during the filed visit about the practice of company level social dialogue. Exchanges during cultural visit to Petra about the challenges the tourism sector faces currently in the situation of the war in Gaza.
