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Jordan opens first job centre in Syrian refugee camp

by Lin Taylor | @linnytayls | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Tuesday, 22 August 2017 14:55 GMT

A Syrian man arranges his belongings on a wheelbarrow at the main market in Al Zaatari refugee camp outside the city of Mafraq in Jordan, near the border with Syria, July 17, 2017. Picture taken July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi

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Allowing refugees to work in host countries relieves pressure on social services, boosts the local economy, and gives refugees the financial security, the UN says

By Lin Taylor

LONDON, Aug 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Jordan has opened its first job centre inside a refugee camp, unlocking work opportunities across the country for thousands living in the world's largest Syrian refugee camp, the United Nations labour agency said on Tuesday.

So far, more than 800 refugees in Zaatari camp in Jordan, which borders Syria and is home to nearly 80,000 people, have registered for work permits at the job centre, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said.

"Refugee workers now have a clear address to resort to when searching for jobs and applying for work permits, where they can receive all necessary information and benefit from expert support," said Maha Kattaa, ILO response coordinator in Jordan, said in a statement.

The Jordanian government says the country is home to 1.4 million Syrians, of whom more than 660,000 are registered with the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.

Allowing refugees to work in host countries relieves pressure on social services, boosts the local economy, and gives refugees the financial security to reestablish their lives, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said, which manages work permits and the flows in and out of Zaatari camp.

"I am confident that having an increased number of Syrians entering the labour market will positively impact the local economy and bring stability to refugee families," said Stefano Severe, a UNHCR spokesman in Jordan.

Earlier this month Jordan became the first Arab country to issue Syrian refugees with a new type of work permit that opens up the growing construction sector.

The centre, launched by the Jordanian government, will run job fairs and employment matching services with businesses across the country.

There are also plans to open a second centre in a nearby camp in Azraq, ILO said.

(Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian issues, conflicts, land and property rights, modern slavery and human trafficking, gender equality, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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