Training and Education

Last year at school is a nightmare for every student in Jordan; he/she has to study really hard to get a decent grade that will allow him/her to study at any university to get a degree, this because without it most probably he/she will be jobless. My father sent me back to Jordan because he wanted me to study at Jordanian universities. Because it’s so important to me in my professional life and it draws my future, our parents did the impossible to engage me at a university.

The situation in Jordan is similar to most of the Arab countries; the university degree is valued more than experience. You have to be university graduate to have a job, and it is rare or maybe impossible to have the chance to have experience without having a university degree. We have certain jobs in Jordan were you are not allowed to work in unless you are member of an association, and this membership comes only by a university degree, like engineering, and medicine. Employees who do not have a university degree are paid less, if they had the chance to work, and a person with five years of experience will get less salary than a fresh graduate, although he cannot benefit the company as much as the experienced does. But in Jordan, there are minimum wages for university graduates and this is another motivation for people to complete the university degree.

In Qatar were I worked for seven years in two different companies, the situation is the same, I as a university graduate used to get more salary than a colleague who didn’t have one, and he used to train me. For that, some people get engaged in online education, as it will help them get a better salary. A friend of mine, he is the guru, whatever I say about him, I wont be fair to tell how experienced he is, once he were asked to do an implementation in Saudi Arabia, he was invited by a company, but the country didn’t give him visa because he wasn’t an It university graduate. But what is really strange about GCC countries in general (UAE, Qatar specially), is that you notice that they are really strict only with Arabs and they are tend to get westerns without university degrees and pay them big salaries, we call them here “foreigner expert”. Those countries as well, encourage local’s without university degree to work and get experience, but this is an exception, as they want their people to start depending on their selves and build their country.

Another exception in all Arab countries is something we call “Wasta”, which is a person who facilitates something. And if you have “Wasta” you can work regardless of your education or experience as well. With “Wasta” you get new business, find a new job, and open all closed doors.

Reference:

Hayfaa, T. &Saleema Kauser, S., (2011) ‘The importance of wasta in the career success of Middle Eastern managers", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 35 Iss: 5, pp.467 – 486, Emerald, [Online]. (Accessed 18 June 2011)

Leung, L., (2006), ‘Work experience vs. certifications’, Network World, vol. 23, no. 25, pp. 44,  EBSCOhost, [Online]. (Accessed: 18 June 2011)