Mid-Period Impact Evaluation of Economic Opportunities for Jordanian Youth INJAZ III
Client: USAID
Implementation year: 2012 – 2013
ConsultUs Work
- Assess the extent to which INJAZ achieved its expected outcomes, identifying key strengths, weaknesses and gap areas in all areas of programming including the training programs and approaches.
- Assess the satisfaction level of INJAZ stakeholders – youth, parents, private sector, and partner organizations.
- Make clear, evidence-based recommendations regarding the structure, content, sustainability, and approach of the program.
- Give recommendations on the program’s operational and managerial capacity to expand to serve younger students and students with special needs.
Project Background:
USAID in Jordan has been an active player and supporter of the Government of Jordan and other relevant stakeholders in improving the quality of education, increasing the business opportunities for Jordanians, enhancing the business environment for private sector development. In addition, USAID supports the enhancement of Jordanians quality of lives through more efficient use of rare water resources, better health services, among other types of support.
USAID has heavily invested in enhancing the quality of graduates of the Jordanian schools system. In addition, USAID has supported the GoJ objectives to bridge the gap between market demand on employment and the quality of output of the educational and vocational training systems in the country. This is evident in the various USAID funded programs such as ERfKE I &II, Tatweer and Maharat programs, SABEQ, support to Ministry of labor, INJAZ program, among others.
Within this framework, in 1999, USAID provided a grant in the value of $4.9 million to Save the Children Foundation to implement the Economic Opportunities for Jordanian Youth Program, which is known by INJAZ. INJAZ, which became a non-for-profit organization in 2001, aimed at building partnerships between local business leaders and educators to increase the capacity of youth to successfully enter the economy. In addition, INJAZ was designed to enhance young Jordanians self-esteem and competency to make the decision regarding their future career path. INJAZ supports preparing Jordanian youth as the future generation of professionals and entrepreneurs.
In addition to USAID previous support to INJAZ, and as a demonstration of the importance of youth community in building a better future for Jordan, USAID supported phase II (2004-2009) with a grant in the value of US$ 5.8 million, and most recently phase III (2009-2014) with US$ 10 million to support expanding the program’s activities and initiatives to reach more students around the country.
