The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is promoting an inclusive energy sector in Jordan by setting up an apprenticeship scheme for young professionals aspiring to a career in the energy sector.  Funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the EBRD has worked with Al Hussein Technical University (HTU) and the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) Electrical Training Centre (ETC) to develop the scheme.

The apprenticeship offers young people on-the-job training to aid their transition from education into employment, and is delivered to students under the umbrella of HTU’s electrical engineering and energy engineering degrees. The first 32 students have already completed the eight-month apprenticeship, which focuses on electrical power systems and comprised three months of technical instruction and five months of on-the-job rotations at NEPCO’s field sites.

The EBRD previously supported NEPCO in 2021 with a US$ 100 million financing package to help the company address working capital constraints by replacing short-term debt financing borrowed at the peak of the Covid-19 crisis.

This partnership is within the framework of the EBRD’s country strategy for Jordan 2020-25 that promotes economic inclusion as its first priority, including through improved vocational training for women and youth. The apprenticeship scheme also implements the EBRD’s Memorandum of Understanding with the university, signed in 2022, that focuses on promoting access to skills in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors.

A closing event was held for the apprenticeship on electrical power systems and was attended by Gretchen Biery, EBRD Head of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Emilija Georgieva, Ambassador of Switzerland to Jordan, Amjad Rawashdeh, General Manager of NEPCO, Dr Ismael Al Hinti, President of HTU, and Lutfi Al Sharif, Vice President of HTU.