Youth unemployment in Jordan reflects a deeper problem in the labor market, one whose effects now extend far beyond short term economic conditions. For many young people, the consequences of prolonged unemployment have become part of everyday reality, as financial independence is delayed, family formation is postponed, and a growing sense emerges that effort does not necessarily lead to opportunity, this long duration of unemployment, and the social and psychological effects that accompany it, suggest that the issue is no longer tied to temporary market fluctuations, but to the nature of the relationship connecting individuals to the broader social system, beginning with basic education and ending with access to work and employment opportunities.

 

In explaining this reality, part of youth unemployment in Jordan is commonly described as structural unemployment, meaning unemployment that arises when the outcomes of education and training do not match the actual needs of the labor market, and this type of unemployment is often treated as a technical issue related to curricula, training quality, and their ability to meet job requirements. Yet this explanation, despite its importance, remains incomplete if it does not account for how available knowledge about labor market needs is translated into real hiring and training decisions.

 

From this perspective, Sector Skills Councils emerged as an attempt to address a specific dimension of structural unemployment, not by creating jobs directly, but by improving the connection between the skills produced by education and training systems and those demanded by the labor market. This approach is used in Jordan as well as in many countries around the world, based on the same principle of engaging groups of employers within each sector to develop a clearer understanding of required skills, and then transferring this understanding to education and training providers to reduce the gap between qualification and demand. These councils do not address unemployment in its broad sense, nor do they intervene in hiring decisions themselves, but rather focus on alignment and knowledge as an entry point for addressing structural mismatch.

 

At this stage of diagnosis, a different type of problem becomes apparent, one that is not related to alignment itself, but to motivation. Even when required skills become clear, many parties lack sufficient incentive to act on that clarity. Employers hesitate to hire or invest in training when additional costs are immediate and visible, while returns remain uncertain or delayed. At the same time, many job seekers approach training pathways cautiously when they cannot clearly see their payoff. As a result, a state of mutual waiting emerges, where each side waits for the other to move first before adjusting its own decisions.

 

Motivation theory explains this behavior in a straightforward way; when the required effort is immediate and costly, while outcomes remain uncertain, individuals and organizations tend to avoid experimentation and stick to familiar and traditional paths, and decisions that involve potential loss are approached with greater caution than those that promise relative stability, even if they are less effective in the long run, this behavior does not reflect a lack of awareness or desire to improve, but rather a natural response to an environment that does not reward trying nor reduce the cost of failure. Over time, hesitation becomes the norm, even when more organized and seemingly logical training and preparation pathways exist on paper.

 

It is precisely here that Sector Skills Councils can play a deeper role beyond identifying needs, without undermining the interests of employers. Rather than imposing additional obligations, these councils can influence firm behavior by making hiring and training decisions less risky and more predictable. This can be reflected in policies built on the work of the councils, such as making certified skills a clear factor in recruitment decisions, linking training to tangible incentives, or sharing training costs among multiple parties. In such cases, employers are not asked to act against their interests, but rather operate within an environment where investing in skills becomes a rational and beneficial choice.

 

From this perspective, structural unemployment is no longer seen as a purely technical issue, nor simply a problem of education and training, but as the result of interaction between structural conditions and professional motivation. Sector Skills Councils remain an important part of this process, not because they solve the problem on their own, but because they provide a framework through which policies can be designed to account for human behavior, and transform alignment from an idea on paper into a practice that is realistically achievable.

 

Zaid K. Maaytah – Researcher in Economics and Behavioral Policy