Training for men and women
GIZ has been working with the Water Authority of Jordan since 2016 to develop a concept for a modern training centre. This included architectural planning with barrier-free access to all rooms, sanitary facilities for men and women, the appropriate machines and course planning. The guiding question was always what was needed. After that, the premises were extended, equipment was procured and a training programme was designed. In addition to the large workshop, there are three other rooms: for theory lessons, IT courses and conferences. Jordan’s Minister of Water and Irrigation and the German Ambassador finally opened the extended training centre in 2021.
Now, men and women from across the country’s water sector undergo training there – from state authorities and from the local water utilities and private construction firms that build pipes. All of them are water professionals like Ammar Ali Zaid. ‘Everything’s extremely professional here,’ he says, beaming. He demonstrates a machine here and there and gives visitors a tour of the centre along with the Water Authority’s head of training, Ruba Jallad. ‘Over the past two years, we have already trained 2,500 people here, around 30 per cent of them women,’ says Jallad proudly. The water sector is dominated by men, so the proportion of women who have taken part in training so far is impressive.
Model for the entire region
The Water Training Center in Marka is of interest to the entire Middle East region, where water is scarce. ‘Next year, we plan to run training courses for people from Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian territories, too,’ Ruba Jallad remarks. The course instructors include a welding expert from Germany and the courses meet the requirements of the German Welding Society (DVS). Certificates are awarded at the end of the training units.
Ammar Ali Zaid is very enthusiastic about the quality of training and about the welding techniques for the various materials. ‘We have learnt gas welding, arc welding and much more here,’ he says. Like his colleagues, the young Jordanian wants to use his qualification to help reduce water loss in his home country. And that is more than just the proverbial drop in the ocean.